IMMEDIATE MAY 18, 2004

PHASES THREE AND FOUR OF PEDESTRIAN MALL TO BEGIN

TIFTON—Thanks to $780,000 in funding from the Georgia Department of Transportation, plans for phases three and four of the Pedestrian Mall at Abraham Baldwin College are well underway.

ABAC President Mike Vollmer said, “We are most fortunate to have received these funds from the Department of Transportation to help enhance the interior of the campus. It was just 26 month ago that the concept of a pedestrian mall was just a pipe dream.”

The Mall is a brick walkway through the center of the ABAC campus. It is lined with benches, lampposts, trees, shrubs, and flowers. The Mall now stretches from the front of the Donaldson Dining Hall to the recently opened Ag Sciences building.

Under the new plans, the Mall will go to the new Health Sciences building, as well as to historic Tift Hall and the new ABAC Place apartments. It will also expand to the south, behind the J. Lamar Branch Student Center down to the south parking lot

“A Streetscape will be added on Perimeter Road from Moore Highway to Alumni Circle,” said Stephen Rakestraw, Professional Design Consultant for the project. Rakestraw also designed the first two phases of the Pedestrian Mall. “This will break up the monotony and enhance the landscape. Also, it will provide safety for the students and help beautify the campus.”

Rakestraw, who is an ABAC alumnus, said the Streetscape will consist of trees, pedestrian crosswalks and other features to tie in with the Pedestrian Mall.

When the $32 million ABAC Place apartments project is completed in August, the Mall will extend through the center of the complex, and two more fountains will be added. The existing Mall has a fountain in front of the dining hall and another between the Carlton Center and the Environmental Horticulture Building.

Rakestraw said phases three and four of the Pedestrian Mall should be completed by December of 2005.

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