Pilot Program Keeping Part Of UConn's Hillside Road Closed To Cars

STORRS, CT — A portion of Hillside Road on the University of Connecticut's main campus in Storrs campus will be closed to vehicular traffic as part of a pilot program.

The closure will be from Glenbrook Road to Jim Calhoun Way and it is slated to commence Friday and run through the Fall 2022 semester, UConn officials said.

The closing is a "pilot effort to enhance safety and help to make the area friendlier to walkers and bicyclists in the foot-traffic-heavy center of campus," officials said. The impact will be evaluated following the fall semester.

The plan was being considered before the coronavirus pandemic prompted other restrictions on campus and is now. timely as UConn goes "back to a full campus,"UConn Associate Vice President of Facilities Operations Mike Jednak said.

According to the plan, HuskyGo buses will continue to use the stretch of Hillside Road, and there will be no changes to bus routes and schedules. Emergency and service vehicles will also continue to use the road. The parking lot in front of the Hugh Greer Field House will continue to be available to Area 1 permit holders and accessible parking permit holders.

The affected section of Hillside Road will be open to pedestrians and all active transportation modes, including bicycles, skateboards, motorized skateboards, and motor scooters, according to the plan. The road will be blocked by temporary barriers for the fall semester, officials said.

Motorists who park in the South Garage and come from the north end of campus should now access the garage by taking Hillside Road to the new traffic circle and taking a right onto Alumni Drive and a left onto Jim Calhoun Way, officials said.