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Politics & Government

Cabrini Outlines 'Gateway Project,' Locals Outline Opposition

Residents raised concerns about the implications of an Eagle Road entrance.

Tuesday night in its Woodcrest Mansion, hosted an informative, if occasionally contentious, public information session regarding plans to further develop its Radnor campus through what they're calling the "Gateway Project."

"This is an exciting plan," opened college president Dr. Marie Angelella George. "And at the core of it is [enhancing] student experience."

The grand plan involves a wholesale reworking of the campus through the elimination of surface parking and the creation of a "car free campus core." Existing lots will be replaced with walkways and green space in the interest of effecting a more pedestrian friendly, walkable area similar to the campuses at neighboring Haverford and Swarthmore colleges.

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The cars have to go somewhere though, and so the first step of this phased plan, the "Gateway Project," is, pending township approval, the construction of a four-story parking garage on the southern edge of campus along Eagle Road with a corresponding entrance off the road. The garage, which will be recessed into the hill so only its top two levels are visible, will sit 120 feet back from the road and will service primarily student residents and commuters. Maarten Pesch, the project's principal architect, said that for passing motorists it will be mostly obscured by trees.

After Pesch gave a power point presentation outlining the project—which he stressed was still in its conceptual stage and open to revision—the floor was opened to the public. Those who spoke almost uniformly opposed the project, which would increase available campus parking from 950 spots to 1,100, and were especially troubled by the proposed entrance off Eagle Road.

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Bob Jacobs, a resident of Berwyn Circle, pressed Pesch to account for how the increased traffic flow would affect the already congested Eagle Road. Pesch said that, at the township's request, they were going to perform a second traffic analysis.

"Eagle Road is our only artery to the other side of town," added fellow local Maryanne Brink, unsatisfied with the response. Brink went on to raise concerns about the safety of building an entrance off Eagle, a road she said has many hard turns and areas of limited visibility.

Cabrini director of facilities Howard Holden said that Cabrini would be meeting with Eastern University—who also has an Eagle Road entrance—PennDOT, and representatives of Radnor Township to talk through the implications of the entrance.

"PennDOT will address line of site issues and dictate to us what's appropriate with the entrance," said Holden, before Pesch added Eagle Road would not be the only point of entry, as the garage would also be accessible from within the campus.

Colleen Price, another attendee, spoke to what she viewed as the underlying issue: the problem for residents isn't the project itself, but what they view as Cabrini's unchecked growth.

Price said she and other homeowners feel as though Cabrini and Eastern are taking over their neighborhood, and aren't sufficiently respectful of rules meant to control their sprawl—charging, among other things, that Cabrini's lease agreement with Valley Forge Military Academy for its softball field is a violation of zoning rules. Price also worried that the project would enable Cabrini to expand its student body.

"You want to build a Villanova back here and you don't have the space to support it," she said.

Holden replied that while Cabrini's undergraduate enrollment ballooned to 1700 in the mid-aughts, they have since scaled it back to 1300 and have no plans to grow beyond the 1500 students their new campus is designed to accommodate.

"We peaked," said Holden. "We went for the quantity, and we learned a lesson."

"We're not going to be a college that just grows for the sake of growth."

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