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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - On Thursday, Georgia State University (GSU) introduced its “Blue Line,” a walking path meant to improve connectivity and safety on campus.

The Blue Line is a 3.7-mile marked path through the university’s Atlanta campus. It consists of city streets, new quadrangles and pedestrian-friendly passageways, GSU said. The path will link the school’s loosely connected network of dorms, classroom buildings, libraries and research centers.

The walking path plan took inspiration from Atlanta’s Beltline and New York’s High Line, school officials said.

“We met with hundreds of people from every unit to hear their concerns and get their ideas about improving the [campus] experience,” L. Jared Abramson, GSU’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said. “Going around, talking with people about what they want, the idea of the GSU Blue Line just became clear.”

Abramson hopes the Blue Line itself will become a destination.

Students told Atlanta News First they are excited about the redevelopment.

“I think it’s fire because we never really had a definite campus,” Laurens Senesea, a student, said. “We always thought we were everywhere in Atlanta, but now we have actual space that’s our part of the school.”

Along with connectivity, safety is one of the main goals of the walking path. Security upgrades include:

More streetlights with brighter LED bulbs

AI-equipped cameras that detect strange noises or gathering crowds, quickly notifying a campus police dispatcher

New blue emergency call boxes

New security cameras, mirrors and high-speed gates in the parking garages

Most GSU buildings and parking decks are now only accessible with a school PantherCard

“Safety? I don’t know because we still got Edgewood and all the other streets,” Senesea said. “But it’s definitely an improvement and a start, especially after the closedown of the Race Trac.”

Students will start to see glimmers of the Blue Line when they return for the fall semester. There will be more than 90 trail markers going up around campus this week, revealing the creation of the new walking path.

“We want to have a palpably different feel on campus when the students return for the fall,” Abramson said. “We’re going to completely redevelop and rebrand the campus.”

“It promises to be transformative for both Georgia State and downtown Atlanta, and we are thrilled to see our vision become a reality,” said Georgia State University President M. Brian Blake.