Sidewalks on Elon's campus are evolving structures. Throughout the years, some walkways have gained and lost purpose as the university has constructed and torn down buildings. And students have not failed to complain about the nuisance of the meandering paths between buildings.
"I think the sidewalks are inconveniently laid out," said sophomore Meg Murphy. "I live in the Oaks, and to get to Lindner I have to take such awkward paths."
Murphy is among many students at Elon who think the layout of sidewalks on campus is less than ideal for quickly getting from building to building.
Tom Flood, director of landscaping and grounds, said he disagrees that the sidewalks are inefficiently placed, and said most of them easily lead to where the students want to go — given there isn't a building or grassy space in the way.
Flood gave the example of there being no direct path between Belk Library and Koury Center, but explained that the grassy quad area students use for playing Frisbee, tanning and watching movies on the lawn was most likely more important to students than having a sidewalk run through the center.
"I didn't design the space, so I can't answer why no one put a sidewalk there," Flood said of the quad between Belk Library, Moseley Center and Koury Center. "But if we had bisected that space for a sidewalk, we would have lost a large section of green space."
New sidewalks, Flood said, are constructed as the university notices the need for them based on student traffic.
"When we have a strong desire line from point A to point B and no walkway, students will create a path," he said.
An example of such a path is the one that goes from O'Kelly Avenue across McMichael to the parking lot of Belk Library and Moseley Center. Initially formed by students, the frequently traveled path over the grass outside of Belk Library was visible because foot traffic killed the area of grass students walked over.
"All of a sudden we started getting a path," Flood said. "We had a BioBus stop put at McMichael, so now you had people coming from the bus stop at McMichael to Belk or Moseley, and that path is the shortest distance. We tried to manage the path by reseeding the grass and couldn't."
Elon's attention to detail is not compromised when it comes to the laying of new sidewalks, Flood said. Depending on the area of campus, the type of sidewalk constructed can be brick, concrete or a combination of both.
"We try to be consistent in certain parts of campus," Flood said. "The historic part of campus, historically, was more brick. When McEwen was built, the sidewalk went in as concrete. We try to be consistent now in that core area by using brick sidewalk."
Flood said sidewalks on the east and west sides of Moseley, a combination of concrete and brick edging, are a less expensive alternative to the historical brick sidewalks, while still keeping with the overall appearance of the university. An additional example of the blending of brick and concrete elements are concrete sidewalks that lead to the recently constructed brick patio by Alumni Gym, according to Flood.
Elon University employs one full-time mason, whose first responsibility each morning is to drive over the brick sidewalks and look for missing bricks, which Flood acknowledged are often stolen from campus sidewalks.
"If anyone wants bricks, maybe we can provide them," Flood said. "I wonder if students would still want to take the bricks if we put them in a big pile with a sign that they were free"