The University seems to have grown concerned that its students might be having trouble crossing the street. This is demonstrated by a request that the University filed last Sunday asking the city to vacate Monroe Street in order to allow space for a pedestrian mall. The mall would connect the Law Quad to its new extension across the street. While the University thinks the added walking space is necessary, it has forgotten to take into account the negative effects the proposed plan would have on the University’s increasingly strained relationship with the city. Causing further harm to this relationship is a bad idea, and at least for the time being the University should table this unnecessary plan.

The proposed pedestrian mall would complement the 100,000-square-foot extension to the Law Quad. The addition, which will replace the parking lot that now faces Weill Hall across Monroe Street, will be built along the same architectural style as the Law Quad. In an effort to allow safer access to the building and create “continuity” between the original complex and the new building, the University hopes to assume control of Monroe Street from the city and convert it into a pedestrian walkway. But what the University doesn’t seem to realize is that the pedestrian mall will also have other, more negative effects.

Relations between the University and the city have sometimes been tense, because the University, within its constitutional autonomy, doesn't have to listen much to the city. Most recently, the University failed to consult with the city as closely as it should have as it prepares to purchase the former Pfizer Inc. facility near north campus. While this deal will fill an empty property, the University won't be paying property taxes, which will put the city out a staggering $5.1 million in tax revenue. In the wake of that financial blow, it’s especially important to show respect for city property. The University's plans for the pedestrian mall would require the city to vacate Monroe Street, and while the city has not yet reacted negatively, such a demand could worsen a newly strained relationship.

Maintaining a strong relationship with the city of Ann Arbor is essential for the University. One of the reasons students and faculty are attracted to this campus is because it is integrated into a city that, for the most part, maintains well-run services, a respect for citizens' concerns and an atmosphere unlike almost any other in this state. That atmosphere can't be continued unless the University and the city work together — even when the University doesn't have to.

This is not an issue worth straining relations over. Turning Monroe Street into a pedestrian mall isn't necessary for maintaining walkability near the Law Quad. It's hard to imagine that crossing Monroe Street on foot is any more difficult than crossing other roads on campus. A better solution would be to put in a marked crosswalk similar to the one that allows students to cross State Street between Angell Hall and the LSA Building. There is no need to bar vehicles from Monroe Street when a simple crosswalk would accomplish the same task.

And aside from the fact that the University needs to stop bullying the city, it just isn't that difficult to cross Monroe Street. Law students may be caught up in briefs and case studies, but they haven’t forgotten to look both ways before they barge into oncoming traffic.