SCUP's LinkedIn group is growing, and is now beyond the size it needs to be, in order for real community to develop there.
A post in January by Michael Radner of Radner Design Associates asked colleagues for images and other information about campuses that have turned streets into landscaped or shared vehicular/pedestrian spaces. To date there have been 28 responses to Michael's query, many informative on the topic.
Below is a summary of the discussion thus far, by me. (Note that one new volunteer opportunity for SCUP members is finding, starting, participating in such conversations, and summarizing them in this manner It's a great way to dive into a topic for professional gain, and then share it with others.)
Among other things, we learned that if you search for "woonerf," you find that term describes the concept, in the Netherlands and also in other parts of Europe, of a "street where pedestrians and cyclists have legal priority over motorists."
Both the University of Toronto and Ryerson University, with the cooperation of the City of Toronto, are piloting a one-year street closure on each of the campuses. It's part of the Toronto Walking Strategy. The University of Toronto's is called Willcocks Commons, and is partially pictured at left.
San Jose State University was part of a partnership that redeveloped West San Carlos Street, in San Jose, into a very much more pedestrian-friendly environment. Here's a brochure (PDF).
Here's a photo of St. Thomas University's Student Life Mall.
There are a lot of nice photos here of Texas State University. Scrolling down you will find images of the location where the university of turning what was Concho Street into the Concho Green landscape mall. SCUPer Nancy Nusbaum, an AVP at Texas State, shares the following:
"The two projects I would have mentioned are the Concho Green (closure of a street and parking to students living in nearby residence halls) and the North LBJ Bus Loop. Both have been highly successful in that we have received many favorable comments. We have conducted two surveys of the nearby student residents on the use of Concho Green since opening. You see students on the Concho Green every day - studying, exercising, visiting, playing, etc... We also have plans to close Bobcat Trail, another street in the core of campus, to convert it to a pedestrian mall. The project is currently waiting funding but will most likely begin in 2012. The schematic design is gorgeous."
In 1996, Worcester Polytechnic converted West Street to a pedestrian plaza. This nice, informal summertime tour of that campus offers some nice photos of the plaza, which is described as:
Reunion Plaza is pretty much the hub of WPI because it’s a relaxing gathering place and is right in front of the Campus Center. This part of campus actually used to be West Street not too long ago, and cut right through WPI to the other side. I think somewhere around 1997/98, WPI reclaimed it from the city and closed it off so that all of their pedestrian traffic would be safer. That’s also around the time the Campus Center was being built as well.
At Georgia Tech, the Fifth Street Bridge over I-75/I-85 connects the campus with the Midtown neighborhood. As noted here by the National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse, bicycle and pedestrian users of the bridge enjoy the stark contrast with the 14 lanes of traffic rushing under them. Maybe they feel like an Elk feels, while crossing a natural wildlife overpass (image at right).
Bucknell University landscaped over a former parking area and through way between its engineering and science buildings, creating a nice entrance for the Engineering Building.
Locust Walk, at the University of Pennsylvania, is listed in the Project for Public Spaces "Great Walks."
Berks Mall at Temple University was renamed Polett Walk, garnering some Facebook opposition. One post suggested that Temple was currently creating an "interior pedestrian walk," but we have found no further details about that.
Winona State University has, over time, developed from a city block transportation infrastructure to more of an open, pedestrian-oriented campus. At this link, to a student project, you can view old and more current aerial campus images, and also some geographical "morphs" over time.
Arizona State University also, over quite some time, eliminated nearly all streets on campus.
At Ohio Wesleyan University, the James A. Young Memorial Walkway, known as the "JAYwalk" is currently undergoing an upgrade using funds (PDF) from its Class of 1961's fifty year reunion gift.
North Park University's master plan won a state ASLA award, with VOA, for a master landscape plan, partly described this way:
'The landscape architect envisioned a circulation system of clear visual and physical links to bring the disparate elements of the university together into a single, unified place. This was accomplished by a series of actions which included converting a disruptive city street and parallel alley into major pedestrian corridors.'
SCUP LinkedIn Group Conversation Participants as of February 1, 2011
Michael Radner, Radner Design Associates
Todd Maxey, Associated Spec Consultants
Jennifer Adams Peffer, University of Toronto
Donald Graves, Graves Engineering
Niraj Dangoria, Stanford University
Trent Rush, TBG Partners
Frederic Mulligan, Cutler Associates
Howard Wertheimer, Georgia Tech
Jeff Fullerton, Acentech
Nancy Nusbaum, Texas State University
Jill Morelli, University of Washington
James Goblirsch, HGA
Jaime Pumphrey, Sterling Barnett Little, Inc.
Lisa Macklin, Comprehensive Facilities Planning, Inc.
John Kellar, Kellars Associates
Conrad Fink, Moody Bible Institute
Society for College and University Planning