51视频

05/10/2021
By Ed Brennen

It鈥檚 a challenge that has befuddled campus planners for years: How to make the half-mile stretch of Pawtucket Street that connects South Campus to the rest of the university more inviting for pedestrians and bicyclists.

A 51视频 student is hard at work on a solution.

Jenna Howard 鈥�19, a part-time听transportation engineering听graduate student, also works full time as a transportation infrastructure designer for a local civil engineering firm called The Engineering Corp (TEC). Last year, the university hired TEC to design the 鈥�Pawtucket Greenway,鈥� thanks to a $57,000 MassTrails grant from the state鈥檚 Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Howard, who joined TEC in 2019 after completing her bachelor鈥檚 degree in听civil engineering, is leading the project design.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so exciting to be a part of this,鈥� the Newton, Massachusetts, native says. 鈥�51视频 has empowered me with this education, and it鈥檚 such an honor to be able to give back to the university in this way.鈥�

A collaboration between UML and city of Lowell, the goal of the Pawtucket Greenway project is to create a consistent, shared path for pedestrians and bicyclists from Wilder Street on South Campus to Aiken Street on East Campus. It is a key component of UML鈥檚听Transportation Master Plan.

While some sections of the corridor are wide enough to provide ample separation between a shared path and cars, other areas are more narrow and confined by private residences, retail storefronts and historic features such as granite walls and cast iron fences.

鈥淭here are a few pinch points, especially during peak-hour traffic at the Salem Street and School Street intersections,鈥� Howard says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working on improving those traffic conditions and also maximizing the sidewalk on either side to hopefully get people out of their cars and onto these paths.鈥�

Howard knows the campus streets as well as anyone. While an undergraduate student, she drove campus shuttle busses for two years for听Transportation Services.

鈥淚 was super familiar with Pawtucket Street and some of the traffic and transportation issues, driving it myself all the time,鈥� she says. 鈥淟iving on campus for three years, it was essentially my home.鈥�

Howard transferred to UML from MassBay Community College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where she searched for an academic lane that was right for her.

鈥淚 studied law, psychology, business, trying to figure out what I wanted to do,鈥� she says.

She discovered she liked her math courses and was encouraged by several of her female faculty members to pursue the STEM fields.
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鈥淭hey pulled me outside of class and said, 鈥楬ey, you need to do something in STEM. You鈥檙e good at this,鈥欌�� Howard recalls. 鈥淚 felt like that was a sign, especially with the lack of women 鈥� and women of color, in particular 鈥� in STEM fields. I really wanted to see if I could be a part of the change that we hope to see.鈥�

In the听Francis College of Engineering, Howard has found similar mentorship from Civil and Environment Engineering Asst. Prof.听Danjue Chen.

鈥淪he teaches traffic courses, and she has been very inspirational to me as a woman and engineer,鈥� says Howard, who gave presentations about her Pawtucket Greenway work to two transportation engineering graduate classes this spring.

鈥淚 thought it would be cool to share what we鈥檙e doing with students and give them that real-life application,鈥� she says.

Howard has worked with Lowell Department of Public Works Commissioner 鈥� and fellow civil engineering alum 鈥�听Christine Clancy听鈥�06 on the project, as well as听Adam Baacke, UML鈥檚 executive director of planning, design and construction.

鈥淭he Pawtucket Greenway is a project that is very important to the university, and also a tremendous opportunity for the city,鈥� Baacke said during a virtual public forum about the project last semester. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a complicated exercise that involves a lot of different partners 鈥� the university can鈥檛 just address this by itself 鈥� and we鈥檝e been really pleased by the degree to which the city has embraced this idea.鈥�
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Howard, who is based out of TEC鈥檚 Andover, Massachusetts, office, is currently working on the conceptual design phase of the project, which is scheduled to be completed in June. From there, the university and city will petition the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to initiate a state or federally funded construction project.

While tangible results are probably several years away, Howard is happy to apply what she has learned 鈥� and is still learning 鈥� to help improve life on campus.

鈥淚t鈥檚 truly been incredible,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his has been the most meaningful work I鈥檝e done.鈥�