By BRETT SWIGER
With news of the Cougareat moving to the ELWC West Ballroom, there have been concerns among students and BYU Bookstore patrons about access through the Wilkinson Center to the bookstore. These concerns have lead construction and bookstore officials to devise plans to provide access through the Cougareat during construction of the new food court.
The construction will begin at the end of May and is expected to be completed by June 1997.
Originally, planners expected to close the entire cafeteria, including the entrance to the bookstore. However, when they recognized the importance and high usage of that walkway, construction and bookstore officials are planning to have a plywood hallway built sometime early this fall so that access will be available for at least nine months of the year-long construction.
“The hallway cannot be put in until the steel (framework) is in place. Even afterwards, the walkway access will be closed periodically to facilitate construction,” said Dick Aland, Wilkinson Center construction manager.
The Cougareat entrance to the bookstore is arguably the most used and highest traffic entrance to the bookstore and students have mixed feelings about even the temporary closure during the summer.
“It’s a necessary evil. I use this entrance all of the time. I don’t think there’s any way around it, but the safety of students comes before convenience,” said Edmund Webecke, a junior from Clinton, majoring in music and computer science.
Bookstore management has discussed the issue continuously with construction officials and is planning to keep patrons fully informed of alternative entrances, hours of operation and dates regarding entrance access.
