Christian Harris, Cole Bretl, Jacob Stevens, Arick Smith, Joey Warnkin
Building and land use
OSU has very good building use for the most part but the land use around Lincoln and Morrill Tower is sub-par given that the towers were built on pieces of land higher than the land surrounding them which makes it hard to use that land effectively and they only built a parking lot in between the towers. Building on sloped ground limits the possibilities and they did not plant a lot of trees to make it look aesthetically pleasing to my eye either. Land being used in a more efficient and beneficial way is the land use by Mirror Lake which is used for beautification while also offering a nice lace to walk around and sit down. Overall the building and land use we encountered was very good and was very pertinent to the use fo students and faculty. I do think more complex green spaces could be implemented in the campus, instead of just square or rectangle green spaces. Putting grass and foliage in places like parking garages and parking lots would increase the beauty and use of the space.
Sidewalks
Starting from the Knowlton front doors the sidewalks are in great condition. They continue in great condition thought the St. John Arena and stadium area. I believe they are in great condition in these places because they are always being walked on and there is always heavy foot traffic in that region. However, once we got past the stadium and behind the towers, the sidewalks became terrible. They are almost unwalkable for a stretch. It is probably this way because they is kind of a neglected area, from the towers to the medical buildings there isn’t that much going on. Heading back east towards the oval the sidewalks became well paved again, not quite as good as north campus but still walkable. Once we were on high street the sidewalks were okay, they are in pretty good condition but not perfect because it is such a busy street. Through the whole trip there weren’t any major sidewalk gaps.
Traffic
As we traveled along the route around campus, we couldn’t help but to observe the traffic. Just about everywhere there are two lane roads on campus. This is a good thing in some areas and not such a good thing in some areas. For the most part traffic generally flowed pretty well in all areas of campus. One can attribute this to the fact that there are not too many roads on campus that are welcoming for a lot of traffic. This was a smart design, given that there will be thousands of students walking around all day. An area of interest that sparked some negative review was the hospital area and surrounding parts (see below). Here there are still only two lane roads, but the traffic is much busier. The issue is that the main academic core is blended with the university hospital. This results in students walking everywhere and there being traffic everywhere because patients for the hospital and students are both in this area. This area did not seem to flow very well at all and the traffic lights don’t appear to be on good timers. There is also a no right turn on red sign that some people didn’t follow at the light. Another area of interest was high street. This is a busy road because it handles the bulk of the traffic because it is right on the edge of campus. For Ohio State this is great, all of the traffic is on the edges of campus and not going through the center of things. For everyone else trying to get away from campus or maneuver along high street, thisis not so great. The main issue here is the bulk of pedestrians crossing high street. There are cars constantly having to stop for crossers and the flow of traffic is always interrupted. There are lots of safety concerns for students crossing high street and for drivers looking out for students. For many of the issues with traffic on campus it could all be solved by implementing better pedestrian walkways. This may include bridges and better crossing areas. This would improve the flow of traffic and alleviate any safety concerns.
Parking
According to the picture and walking directly through the parking lot, it seems that parking around campus and near the stadium is sufficient yet it creates a problem of distance needed to travel by foot once the vehicle is parked. Though it seems to be functional and working well regarding parking space and room. Creating more parking garages instead of large lots could help reduce space while creating space vertically. Thus it could help better the usage of land to increase parking and decrease area used for parking purposes. But consideration for the increased volume of cars should be taken into account.
Safety
Walking around campus, discrepancies in street safety became evident in different areas.
Here, West of Ohio Stadium on Cannon Drive, the sidewalk feels very close to oncoming traffic. There is no safety precaution to keep the pedestrians from falling onto the street or warning them that they are too close.
On the other hand, this bridge allows for pedestrians to safely cross Cannon drive without a crosswalk from a parking lot near the Drake Performance Center.
This sidewalk on John H Herrick Drive gives pedestrians an approximate six foot grass buffer from the oncoming traffic.
Crossing John H Herrick Drive, this sidewalk is very wide (approximately 15 feet) and lets pedestrians cross easily and safely. One drawback to the location is that this intersection is very busy and pedestrians may end up cutting off traffic.