This holiday traveling season may go smoothly, with no more than the predictable traffic back-ups and flight delays, but for residents of the St. Louis area, the largest shock will come after the holidays, when a section of Highway 40 is shut down.

Students at Saint Louis University will certainly not be exempt from the trials of having a major traffic artery shut down for two years, and will be forced to alter traveling habits-perhaps for the benefit of all.

The University has an opportunity to foster a closer bond with the local Metro transit system, and should start now in creating ties that will link the two entities-an urban university and mass transit-and create a cohesiveness that could last long after the highway reopens.

Some seemingly simple ways to establish a working relationship with Metro include a joint effort to help clean up and keep safe the MetroLink station on Grand Boulevard. The station has the potential to be used by most SLU students if only it were cleaner and, above all, safer.

Another aspect of creating an atmosphere for mass transit on and around campus would be making clear, well-marked crosswalks through busy intersections or onramps.

The westbound highway 40 onramp at Grand is increasingly dangerous to cross as the day wears on and traffic picks up, and more so as the sun sinks.

In order for students to use mass transit and to avoid the impending traffic headaches caused by the highway shutdown, it is logical to assume that the students must first have easy and safe access to the Metro stop.

The greater issue, of course, is that MetroLink will, once the section of Highway 40 between Kingshighway and Brentwood is closed, be the only truly viable option for students who wish to expeditiously travel to The Galleria or the Brentwood Promenade shopping center in Richmond Heights.

To preempt the panic that may set in once such a well-traveled section of the highway is closed, it is certainly advisable for students, and all St. Louis residents to acquaint themselves with, yes, alternate car routes, but also with the mass transit options available.

For many students with cars, Highway 40 represents a main link between the urban setting of SLU and the more suburban St. Louis County. Even for students without cars, the closings will affect travel, as bus routes and shuttle stops are changed, and travel times are drastically lengthened. Grim though the traffic outlook may seem, hope can be seen in the planning, and the heads up that SLU students and faculty have received.

The SLU community has had plenty of warning of the closings, and indeed the main websites for the University and MoDOT have links to how to avoid the traffic-an internet trend that will certainly be imitated on other St. Louis oriented websites.
Other tips for surviving the reconstruction of the major highway are simple: Be patient and walk.

Being patient may be the most difficult ability to master, especially as the post-holiday madness sets in around shopping centers and major urban areas.

Even on the best of days, many drivers struggle with the chaos and confusion that can reign during rush hour traffic, and it can not be stressed enough that patience will be the key ingredient to surviving the closings with grace and semi-ease.

Of course, there is also the prospect of more walking. College students and faculty are already accustomed to the act of walking a great deal more than the average American as the size of campuses expands and streets are closed to auto traffic. Foot power is now, and will continue to be, the cheapest and most rewarding form of travel found in St. Louis-as long as the intersections are kept safe.

Taking the MetroLink to the Brentwood/Galleria stop in Richmond Heights is a great start to any shopping trip, but those traveling should be aware that the trip will involve a great deal of walking. Modern day shopping centers were not designed with the walking shoppers in mind-look at the parking lots for further evidence.

Walking never hurt a shopper, and so as long as a walker has a basket, or bag or some other means of carrying purchases, it can be a healthy alternative to the gas-guzzling SUV.

Washington University in St. Louis offers discounted Metro tickets, and perhaps this along with other measures including improving the SLUride program could further encourage students and faculty to be patient and avoid the hectic jams that are yet to come.

With plenty of forethought and planning, SLU and St. Louis as a whole may well come out of the highway reconstruction a stronger, healthier and safer community.