Casey Whalen, Mamadou Djigo, Matt Humes
The University District goals of the district plan are to provide land use recommendations, guidelines for design and inform capital improvement priorities. The current land use is described in the plan as residential and institutional uses making up 87 percent of the district area. The large portion of institutional use is due to Ohio State and the medical campus. After that, 6 percent of the land use is commercial and industrial. A majority of this is located along High street. Lastly, parks and open spaces make up the remaining 4 percent. The new land use recommendations mainly focus on keeping high intensity development close to Ohio State campus in order to keep low intensity development in areas further from campus. The guidelines that are laid out in the plan are intended to maintain and preserve the existing conditions of the districts. The goal is to keep commercial areas separate from the low intensity residential areas and maintain a development pattern that promotes walking, car, and transit. There is an emphasis for the university district to be a sustainable community and utilize green building practices in order to conserve the natural resources of the district.
I believe that the land use goals outlined in the district plan will promote a economically prosperous area. The land use goals organize a plan to increase the commercial value of High street and Lane avenue which are high traffic areas for the residents of the district and the university. The goals of the plan describe an effort to preserve the campus and residential areas in order to maintain friendly living areas throughout the district while keeping the high intensity and commercial developments contained to a specific area that already exists as a prosperous area for commercial uses. This will allow the district to conserve the existing conditions of the district which is an outlined goal of the plan.
The recent developments in the University District is consistent with the plan due to the various construction projects that are currently taking place. These projects are limited to the High street area and consist of road construction which with allow for more parking and easier traffic flow along High street. This will be a great addition to the area in regard to the other projects that are under way such as the construction of high rise and high intensity residential buildings and commercial spaces on High street. With the placement of these buildings on High street, the low intensity residential areas that are further away from campus are able to remain low traffic areas.
The land use plan does a good job of addressing the issues of the area. Currently, High street can be a dangerous area because of the high car and pedestrian traffic. The new road construction is focused on widening the roads in order to make the vehicular traffic flow better and allow for less traffic back up. However, with the current construction it is more difficult for pedestrians to navigate the area due to detours and cross walks that can create situations that make it difficult for cars to see people crossing the street.
I think one improvement that could be made to the University District Plan relates to the vehicular traffic on campus. It is very difficult for cars and busses on campus during certain times of the day where there is high pedestrian traffic such as when many classes start and let out at the same time. With all the students walking on campus, some cars and busses can sit at an intersection for extended periods of time waiting for kids to stop crossing the road. I believe it would be smart to address this issue and create a solution that will allow vehicles to have an easier time navigating the campus because this can cause the campus and COTA buses to become behind on their route schedule.