Williamsburg Vice Mayor, City Councilman, and Professor of Economics Clyde Haulman spoke to several students on Wednesday, Nov. 12th in the Sadler Center. The event, sponsored by the political action committee Students for a Better Williamsburg, did not have a specific topic but was instead an opportunity for students to ask questions of Haulman.
“Why are there so many businesses in Williamburg that close so early?” a student asked for the evening’s first question.
“The problem is that half of the city works on a completely different schedule than the other half,” said Haulman. “Decades ago there were a lot more businesses in downtown Williamsburg which catered to the student population. Recently, downtown Williamsburg has transformed into Merchant’s Square, which caters specifically to the tourist population and takes away from both the community and the students.” “
There are three projects in development right now which are looking bring business back to the students and the community, including new businesses and apartments behind Wawa,” Haulman continued. “One common complaint from the students has been the lack of a dance club in the area, and while that isn’t one of the community’s major concerns it’s a legitimate point, and right now we’re looking at an area to put one in.”
“One major problems students have… is transportation,” commented one student. “Is there currently anything being done to fix this problem?”
“The new and revamped Williamsburg Area Transit system has been initiated and is being further developed,” said Haulman. “In the mean time, we’re looking to modify the current Williamsburg Area Transport to serve students better. We need to make more routes for students and cut the wait time to ten minutes or less, although right now they’re working to cut the time down to thirty minutes. The city recently received a grant to buy three street trolleys that will run from Merchant’s Square to the College to Newtown and High Street. This will decrease the headway time and should start this spring.”
“Are there plans to expand transportation plans for pedestrians and bike riders?” asked one student.
“There are plans for new sidewalks and bike paths,” said Haulman. “These plans are being developed only for the region, though, not the entire city. We’ve gotten a lot of funding for sidewalks and recently added a new crosswalk.”
“Are there any plans to expand transportation to allow students to have easier access to the Regional Health Center?” asked one student.
“Right now the city is strongly supporting the Riverside group’s plan to build another hospital that would be a lot more convenient to both the community and to the college,” said Haulman. “Right now the Health Secretary needs to look into it, but it looks like it could be approved by spring 2009.”
“Has noise been a problem and complaint for residences and areas near the college?” asked another student.
“City Council has been working with the student assembly to deal with this issue,” said Haulman. “The three person rule was hoping to fix this problem, yet I’m hoping the current discussion to modify the rule will prompt broader discussion with the community.”
“Instead of dealing with the issue indirectly, why not tackle it directly?” Haulman continued. “The William and Mary administration needs to step in more and work better with the city to figure out plans and policies relating to off-campus issues that deal with students. There also needs to be a lot of education; the community needs to be educated on what it means to live next to a college, the students need to be educated about respecting the community, and the college needs to be educated about their current policy. If this education takes place, this issue will likely fade out quickly.”
“What are the problems with the divide between the community, the city government, and the college administration?” asked one student.
“The current college administration meets regularly with the mayor and city planning committee,” said Haulman. “Right now there is a lot more openness with communication than there was in the past. There’s a lot more they can do in terms of planning and communication on certain projects, such as business, but it’s at a good place right now.”
“How can regular students get their voice out?” asked one student.
“You can go to the city website and contact a committee member or councilman,” said Haulman. “You can also go to any public meeting and speak in open forums, or you can directly to someone from the city staff, who are always open to questions. “
One student remarked that there is currently a plan to have a website set up letting students know about happenings in the student government, events in which they could participate, and bus routes. After several more questions on city issues, another student asked what Haulman thought about having a student on the city council.
“There were three students who ran in the past and in the process became very knowledgeable about city government, which is very important,” said Haulman. “It would be great to see students serving on a board or commission, in which they could learn about city government in a short amount of time. About a student serving on city council, I definitely see this happening one day in my lifetime.”