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Subheadings within this sub-section:
After an initial review of academic and support program information, the planning task force was
asked to develop statements about the goals and objectives the plan should reinforce. To achieve this,
the task force decided to focus on six interest categories: building and building sites, KU/Lawrence
relationships, student needs, transportation, environment, and utilities.
Subcommittees were appointed to study each area. The subcommittees met with various on-and off-campus groups. Assumptions and principles were discussed and goals-and-objectives statements
were developed. Brief summaries of the work of each subcommittee follow.
Building and Building Sites
The subcommittee identified buildable projects and discussed facilities siting. The siting challenge is
twofold. First, a lack of space seriously constrains core campus growth. Second, any given project
requires reconciliation of several needs. These needs include 1) justification of additional built space,
2) access to it, and 3) sustainment, despite these changes, of a high-quality environment.
The committee also developed statements concerning parameters for proposed facilities, The fit
between physical qualities of possible sites and proposed facilities must be assessed. Goals-and-
objectives statements were generated on the topics of technology, space utilization, campus density,
historic characteristics of campus, site selection, and health and safety related to the built environment.
The Role of Technology
| Buildings will need to be designed and sited to accommodate expanded activity that occurs not only during the class hour day but into the evenings and weekends as well. |
Planning must assume that individuals will
need access to networked information and
related technologies whether they are sited
on or off campus. It will be essential to
differentiate between programs that can be
delivered effectively and efficiently by the
use of technology and those that will require
trips to campus.
Space Utilization
KU should develop better methods and policies for the assignment and reassignment of space, giving
particular attention to the renovation of existing facilities, mandated improvements, and access. In
particular, space that opens up when functions are discontinued should be allocated to higher priority
use.
Campus Density, Activities, and Facilities
Because of a lack of capital development funding, the university will need to focus on more shared- use facilities. Buildings will need to be designed and sited to accommodate expanded activity that
occurs not only during the class hour day but into the evenings and weekends as well.
Budig Hall is a good example of a structure designed in anticipation of more extended and intensive
use than was true of facilities designed in the past. Its seating capacity during any single class hour is
2,000 students. Such large, shared-use facilities won't simply affect the ratio of built space to open
space on campus. They will have to be designed for heavier pedestrian traffic during more hours in
the day. They will inevitably affect the composition of the campus around them.
Historic Preservation, Campus Character, and Campus Image
In an effort to reconcile the evolution of institutional programs and changes in modes of transportation with concerns about environmental issues and about the use and preservation of buildings and
open space on the campus, KU should
| Shared-use facilities will inevitably affect the composition of the campus around them. |
consult with the campus community as early
as possible as it plans significant changes.
Site Selection
For the most part, facility siting should
promote proximity between academic units and their associated support units-the notion of adjacency. But because of factors influencing the delivery of education, unforeseen innovations will
occur in academic programs and their support services. These innovations will dictate new patterns
of site selection that may not conform with the older notions of adjacency.
Building Environment, Health, and Safety
All university planning for buildings and building sites must take into account the use of energy for
heating, cooling, and lighting; effects on the air, water, and soil; and the opportunity to reduce or
reuse wastes. In general, such planning should promote the well-being of the environment and the
health and safety of people on the campus and in the community.
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KU/Lawrence Relationships
The relationship of the university to the surrounding community was the focus of this group. Community access to and use of the campus was one area of concern. Another was the maintenance of
consistent lines of communication between city government and KU.
Student, Faculty, and Staff Accessibility
| The campus should be safe and accessible day and night to students, faculty, and staff. |
Students, faculty, and staff should have
moderately convenient access to areas they
use, including the provision of parking
space. Any lots constructed to create access
to the top of the hill should be compatible with existing architecture. Improved access to parking,
better traffic flow, and pedestrian safety are high priorities.
Pedestrian Accessibility
The campus should be safe and accessible day and night to students, faculty, and staff. Cooperative
efforts with the city to improve streets, sidewalks, and lighting in neighborhoods leading to the
university should be encouraged.
Neighborhoods
| Natural areas exist on west campus for biking and jogging trails, and these should be retained. |
Nearly all issues involving university land
use affect the city and the neighborhoods
around the university. Continual cooperation
and communication with city planners and
representatives of neighborhood groups
should be the rule. The protection and preservation of surrounding neighborhoods is in KU's interest.
Open Space
Open areas for recreation and leisure that create a park-like environment should be maintained and
enhanced for the benefit of the entire community.
West Campus Development
The development of west campus should enhance the university's physical image. Natural areas exist
for biking and jogging trails and should be retained. The current practice of siting low-cost facilities
in highly visible locations should be discouraged.
Property Acquisition
Areas adjacent to campus that could serve the academic mission in the future should be identified
and a plan for acquisition encouraged.
Student Needs
Student input into any planning effort is essential. The subcommittee decided to elicit as much input
from students as possible. The subcommittee assessed existing facilities and services and conducted
a structured survey of students, faculty, and staff as a basis for formulating a set of goals and recommendations.
Focus groups were convened. Meetings with student-service professionals were held to ask their
long-range plans. The following issues were addressed: classroom learning, studying, recreation,
eating, entertainment, meeting with other students, on- and off-campus housing, health services,
hours of offices and programs serving student needs, and parking. The following recommendations
and objectives emerged.
Student Housing
KU has an investment to maintain and a need for an initiative to develop additional high-quality
housing other than traditional dormitories. The steps that KU takes should provide suitable and
affordable accommodations for a more diverse student body in the coming century.
Quality of the Campus Environment
Guidelines for the quality and quantity of
open and green space need to be established. Spaces already in existence need to
be retained, and recreation areas need to be
developed.
Campus Access, Convenience, and
Safety
KU should distinguish between structures that require public access and are committed to general
classroom operations and those in which more restricted activities, such as research, occur. The issue
of safety is one that requires consideration of the entire campus and of surrounding neighborhoods.
Student Recreation Facilities and Spaces
The university should address the need for more and varied formal and informal spaces and facilities
to accommodate the recreational interests of a diverse and growing student population.
Student Meeting, Study, and Office Areas
Formal and informal study and meeting spaces, as well as graduate student office space, need to be
distributed equitably across campus. The amount of space should be minimized while its effective
use is maximized.
Other Services
Services support the class-hour day should be expanded or reconfigured to reflect changes in
demand, demographics, student needs, and ideas of convenience and service. In general, on-campus
services should be thoughtfully sited and accessible. In designing these services, KU also should
consider their relationship to the class-hour day.
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Transportation
Developing an access plan for KU in 1997 is a different matter from the same task faced by the
planners of 1973. At that time, enrollment was projected to reach a maximum of 18,000. Today,
enrollment exceeds 24,000 students, and the campus faces the likelihood of extending its hours of
operation on the weekdays and into the weekends. Even with a projection of modest growth, these
factors are likely to complicate the issue of campus access: an increasingly diverse group of users,
commuting students, and visitors, along with the demands of special events.
Addressing the issues of transportation and access are crucial to KU's efficient functioning. Solutions to long- standing problems must take into account the location of the campus in the community.
Problems of access are complicated by
| An access plan drawn up in 1997 will necessarily differ from that devised in 1973, when enrollment was projected to reach a maximum of 18,000 to 20,000. |
topography and by the existence of two
campuses, main and west.
This subcommittee benefited from the
advice of an outside consultant experienced
in campus transportation planning, BRW
Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Campus Access
A well-coordinated system of access to campus needs to be developed and implemented. The present
access model focuses on getting cars to campus and across campus, as well as providing parking.
This model is costly in financial and aesthetic/environmental terms.
Streets
The street system, little improved in two decades, will be the major provider of campus access.
Near-term and long-term improvements that assure a safe, efficient street network are necessary.
Major corridors of automobile access should be coordinated with major parking facilities. Where
possible, investment in streets should accommodate alternate forms of transportation, such as bus or
bike lanes. This may require funding and coordinated efforts by various state, university, and municipal bodies.
Pedestrians on Campus
| Where alternatives to the use of private automobiles has been implemented, success has been limited largely by the investment that has been made. |
A growing campus population makes the
achievement of a safe mix of auto, bus,
bike, and pedestrian traffic more difficult.
Pedestrian access to and use of campus
should be promoted by providing safe and
efficient routes to and from facilities.
Alternate Transportation
Where alternatives to the use of private automobiles have been implemented--KU on Wheels, the
student bus service, for example--success has been limited largely by the investment that has been
made. Providing alternatives to the use of cars or the necessity of inconvenient walks will protect the
campus environment; these alternatives deserve to be promoted. There is also a need to provide
incentives that promote ride-sharing.
Bicycles
Bicycles are most often used by people under 35; thus, the bicycle commute with the heaviest volume in Lawrence is to and from the KU campus. Encouraging the use of bicycles on campus may be
as simple as providing adequate bicycle lanes, routes, lockers, and so on.
Conveyances of Convenience
| KU will engineer a transportation system whose components include bicycles, buses, shuttles, and single-occupancy vehicles. |
Elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks,
and other "people movers" ease travel over
long distances or up steep slopes. Providing
such conveyances at strategic locations is a
necessity.
Special Events
Because of the location of major sporting and recreational facilities and the traffic they engender at
the time of their use, cooperation between the campus and the city will be an ongoing necessity
during special events. Such cooperation will help to assure safe use of pedestrian and vehicle routes.
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Environmental Issues
The definition of "environmental issues" varies from person to person. For one, the preservation of
beauty is important; for another, health and safety; for still another, both. The work of this subcommittee focused on the idea that physical development planning should steer the campus away from
potentially negative environmental or health and safety impacts.
General Conditions of Campus Planning
KU needs to make environmental impact an important consideration in campus planning and decision-making. Proactive measures to reduce negative impacts are the most cost-effective means of
lessening environmental degradation and potential liability. A KU environmental policy statement
giving assurance that impacts are considered would be a good first step.
Transportation
KU will provide a transportation system that includes bicycles, buses, shuttles, and single-occupancy
vehicles. A non-automotive transit system will lower construction and maintenance costs, reduce
negative environmental impacts, increase pedestrian safety, and improve air quality.
Parking
KU will provide parking that takes heed of the environment. For example, a parking lot shaded by
plantings in accordance with established formulas of landscape design reduces heat that radiates
from the lot surface and saves utility costs in nearby buildings. Because land is a finite and valuable
commodity, when it is used for parking lots, those lots should be constructed with several factors in
mind: their accessibility, their potential for service not only to present buildings but to future ones,
and their anticipated users.
Open and Green Space
KU will develop and maintain unpaved open and green space. It will seek to minimize the effect of
the built environment on these spaces. Green space improves campus views and vistas and preserves
and enhances the campus climate.
Building Sites
KU will need to site buildings so as to use financial and infrastructure resources efficiently and to
lessen the university's environmental impact on areas surrounding the university. When possible,
buildings should be clustered around shared points of access and parking, thereby consolidating bus
stops and making pedestrian movement to and among buildings convenient. Through effective
siting, KU can reduce operating and maintenance costs for roads, parking facilities, utility tunnels,
and other infrastructure.
Utilities
| Buildings should be clustered so that bus stops can be consolidated and pedestrian movement to and among buildings made convenient. |
KU needs to pursue technologies and
management methods that minimize use of
energy and water resources. The state
budgeting process should provide KU the
flexibility to return a portion of energy
savings to individual units that conserve.
This would reward reduced utility use.
Campus Environment and Community Health and Safety
All KU-related facilities, activities, and programs should be designed, conducted, and operated in a
manner that promotes and protects human health and safety.
Campus Utilities and Infrastructure
Various utility and infrastructure systems pose problems for KU. Recent studies on electrical distribution, water supply, and storm and sanitary sewers have identified the need for several significant
improvement projects. This subcommittee's focus was on goals and strategies that are applicable
across the campus for a variety of systems. The specific deficiencies of campus utility systems are
addressed later in the plan.
Campus Utility Systems
Funds should be set aside each year for upgrades of campus utility systems. The amounts set aside
should be based on estimated depreciation and future capital costs. These projects should extend out
several decades.
Energy Utilization and System Efficiency
The cost of purchasing and installing energy-efficient fixtures and equipment should be covered by
savings that result from decreased energy utilization. Although some of the savings will, as an
incentive, be returned to units that conserve, most of the savings will be reinvested in these energy-
saving measures.
Technoloqy
The university should continue to develop and implement plans for the installation of proven energy- efficient equipment. It should also incorporate monitoring networks for utility distribution systems
and building equipment.
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