The completion of the steel and brick fence around Worth Hills has been delayed until Sept. 29, about a month after the original completion date, said the associate director of major projects. The bricks for the fence’s columns, which were ordered in June from Acme Bricks, arrived two weeks ago, said Harold Leeman, associate director of major projects at the Physical Plant.
“The brick manufacturing plant probably just bumped us down in priority since we were not ordering so many bricks,” said Leeman.
Leeman said he got the final word from Don Mills, vice chancellor for student affairs, to start the fence project at the end of last May.
The fence is about 1250-feet long and 6-feet tall, depending on the topography of the site, and will go around the intramural field on Bellaire Drive and end on Stadium Drive at the Ray Gates gate near the University Recreation Center, Leeman said.
The project has been on the long-term security plan for 10 years but was implemented this year partly because of the increase in crime and injuries, said TCU Police Chief Steve McGee.
“There have been many students and nonstudents recently who have been seriously injured in car accidents by the Greek area and have also been victims of many car break-ins,” McGee said.
The TCU Police Department has not run statistics on recent crime rates and car accidents on campus, but McGee said he believes there was a dramatic drop after the gates were put up in other parking lots around campus.
“The gates just give us more control, and it is harder for the burglar because they always want an easy way out,” McGee said.
The fence may cause inconveniences for students as well.
Tierney Weed, a junior secondary school education major who lives in Worth Hills, said the fence makes things harder despite the crime prevention.
“It’s just annoying and another part of construction to deal with on campus,” Weed said.
However, she said, her parents, who visited during Family Weekend, were glad TCU was taking the extra security precaution.
The fences compare to those around gated apartment complexes, McGee said.
“We are doing many proactive things to make sure the campus is the safest it can be,” McGee said.
