A new walkway beginning from the Metro Orange Line station on Winnetka Avenue and Victory Boulevard and continuing onto the Pierce College campus will be constructed by the fall of 2009.The path will be sited between the soccer field and the Village, extending as far as the Sheriff’s Office, according to Tom Rosdahl, instructor of automotive service technology. Referred to as the “gateway project,” the footpath “should be completed around the same time as the new Student Services Building will be,” Rosdahl said.Although the SSB is scheduled to be finished around the same time as the walkway, the two developments are completely separate from each other.”It will have planters and various trees along the sides, and a marquee in the front that will have a Pierce College sign and LED lights,” said Larry Kraus, associate vice president in the Office of Development and Enterprise.Richard Berliner, the architect working alongside Pierce on this project, said the total cost of the project will cost approximately $2.3 million.”The money for this is both from federal money and from bonds,” Kraus said. “It’s the same bonds that we are building all the other buildings on campus with.”Although the construction of this walkway will cater to the needs of many students that use the Orange Line, a large portion of students serve as their own source of transportation to the college.”Even though gas costs a lot now, I still like to drive my own car so I don’t have to wait for the Metro,” said Gloria Sanchez, a 23-year-old nursing major.Along with providing a new, direct connection to the campus by means of public transportation, Pierce has also added a new parking lot to provide a more accessible campus for students that drive.Located next to the Performing Arts Building off of Stadium Way, the lot, called Stadium Overflow Parking Lot 5, is comprised of 250 spaces.”It is being built to create a safe passageway for students to enter the campus from the Orange Line,” Kraus said.