The area from the corner of Lane and High to the corner of Lane and W Norwich Ave is home to many chain restaurants such as BWW, Dominos, Chop shop, etc. All of these restaurants are connected by one large building that meshes perfectly with the other buildings that surround it. In terms of structural characteristics, the building has a brick finish to it that is just like the other buildings you see up and down High. The buildings height remains constant with its surroundings and without a doubt the building layout contributes to the area feeling like a community. Since these restaurants share a small stretch of building on High the amount of space each restaurant has can definitely be seen as very close quarters. The proper when walking past it definitely feels very close to road and sidewalk space is very tight. With these restaurants seeing high volumes of people walking in and out in my opinion the building should have been set back further. This would give bikers and people more space to walk on the already crowded sidewalks. One major problem that we discovered when observing this building was its parking. The only parking we saw was right on High street. The complex had no parking lot or area for customers to park. Behind the complex there is a very small parking lot that no customer would know is there if they are traveling on High. One way that this building could help its parking problem would be to advertise the parking in the back of the complex. Overall this area seems to be very well planned out and there are not many issues related to it.
The houses on W Norwich Ave are very uniform in the way that they have very neutral colors and are also covered in siding. The use of the buildings make sense in that they give students cheaper housing than the dorms while also bridging into independent life. It is appropriate for the area because it is close enough to campus for students while also being off campus. The height, size, and shape of all the buildings in the housing area are all very similar and placed about the same length apart. I feel like the buildings are very close and that they feel like a cohesive community. It also helps that on the weekends all the students are home and tend to hang out in their yards, causing more interactions between neighbors. With how close the houses are together, it seems as if they are too close to one another and that you could hear what is going on in the other house if they are moderately loud. The buildings are open lawns with little to no greenery separating the houses, causing a lack of privacy. The setbacks of the houses are very minimal and do not seem appropriate. The only housing with more setbacks are the ones with the parking in the front, causing the character to be a bit less uniform. This is not always a bad thing, but it becomes one when the only thing different about the buildings are the spots of parking. Some buildings have none, some have some in the front, and the others have it in the back. There is not a sufficient amount of parking for these houses even with the lots that they provide. Just walking through the neighborhood you can see the mass amount of cars parked bumper to bumper on the streets. I would make more space in the back lots for parking so that the streets could remain cleaner and more easy to move and drive on. This housing area is overall very uniform except for the parking in that some have lots while others do not. The best thing would be to move the parking off the streets and into bigger lots behind the houses.
The stretch of road between Neil and High on lane is filled with mostly residential buildings and churches. Most of them are brick, with a few having tan siding instead. Most of them fit in fairly well with each other, except for the small gas station that sort of sticks out. The setbacks are fairly even and close to the road. Most of the residential and church builds have their own small private parking, but no public parking is available on this stretch except for when using the gas station. Building spacing is tight and very close, with campus dorms taking up most of the campus side of the street, luckily the road is wide so the street doesn’t feel cramped. Also much greenery is placed on the street to make the area feel fresh and vibrant. The traffic is heavy and it can be quite difficult to cross the street during busy hours. Overall the area has some of the nicer apartments on campus and is a good area to live in for students. Being close to high street allows for easy access to restaurants and convenience stores and the walk to campus is extremely easy. The only criticism I would have is the lack of crosswalks on Lane Ave.