Wilson College celebrates campus improvements

CHAMBERSBURG - Wilson College will be celebrating the town-gown relationship with the unveiling of the college's new entrance off Park Avenue Friday evening.

Wilson College president Barbara Mistick said completion of three campus projects is thanks to support of the Borough of Chambersburg and the partnership between the college and borough.

The new Park Avenue entrance will now serve as the main entrance to the campus. The Philadelphia Avenue entrance has been closed.

Closing the Philadelphia Avenue entrance was expected to increase student safety, as that entrance was the site of several vehicle accidents over the years. The new entrance project was aimed at improving visibility for vehicles and pedestrians.

Another project being celebrated Friday evening is completion of the Streetscape Pedestrian Safety Initiative project. This project was possible thanks to a $465,429 grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority's Multimodal Transportation Fund awarded in September 2014.

The streetscape project consisted of installing new and upgraded sidewalks, crosswalks,  ADA-compliant curb ramps. lighting, signs and landscaping, and repairing existing curbs. Nearly 3,000 feet of sidewalk, starting at Sharpe House on the south end of campus and extending north towards the Menno Haven campus, was installed.

The third recently-completed project is renovation of the campus quad, which included widening the road in the middle of campus and adding 32 new parking spaces. The quad's renovation was done as part of a $12 million library renovation project which was completed last October.

"I think we've really improved our parking on campus," Mistick said, adding all of these projects were a part of a campus enhancement plan that has been in progress for the last five years. Overall, the quad project took three years to complete, with the Park Avenue entrance project and the Streetscape Pedestrian Safety Initiative project both taking two years.

"I'm so excited," Mistick said. "It makes all the work worthwhile."

Friday's activities will begin at 5 p.m. inside the new main entrance directly across from Park Avenue.

David Barr, 717-881-7020