Blog 2: OSU Planning Field Assessment

As planners, we use tools such as land use planning and zoning to regulate and maintain the design, efficiency and safety of cities. In order to undertake this work, it is important to first make assessments of the current environment of a street, school, neighborhood, or city, so that we can begin identifying planning issues and make recommendations for future improvements.

Beginning at Knowlton

The Knowlton School of Architecture resides along the popular West Woodruff Avenue in the northern campus area. The building is surrounded not only by Woodruff but by Tuttle Park Place and Ives Drive; despite this, Knowlton presents a pleasing state with some green space around its exterior and modest setbacks that allow plenty of walking space between the school and the roads.

Woodruff is generally very safe to drive or to walk. There are stoplights at several crosswalks (without an intersection, too) to enforce street safety for pedestrians; the timing of the stoplights depends often on the pedestrians, who quickly get the right of way after pressing the cross signal. Both the street widths and the sidewalk widths are modest in size, enhancing the safety of the roadway.

Cannon Drive and the Ohio Stadium

I have driven this road countless times on my route home via the Cannon Drive-12th Avenue ramp onto the southbound Olentangy Freeway. Even prior to being a student at the Ohio State University, I noticed the awkward nature of the sharp turns of northern Cannon Drive.

Two sharp, narrow turns that can be dangerous if driven too quickly.

To drivers who are new to the road, the turns are particularly unexpected. There is a notably narrow street width, so a driver must take the turn slowly; otherwise, he easily risks drifting into oncoming traffic. There is no signage or warning of the sharpness of the turn, lowering the road’s street safety in my opinion.

Surrounding the Ohio Stadium, there is an ample amount of parking accessible from Cannon Drive, used most often for events at the arena. Despite being a popular attraction for decades, the traffic flow in the area is poor when big events are being hosted. Otherwise, though, traffic flow is fine.

West 12th Avenue

Sidewalks and street safety are prioritized along 12th Avenue, though the roads are particularly narrow. The road is completely lined with buildings, making it a busy roadway in terms of both vehicles and pedestrians. To best share the roadway, many crosswalks line 12th Avenue with bold lines bringing attention and caution to vehicles.

 

There is an obvious issue with the traffic flow as Neil Avenue is approached from 12th Avenue.

The awkward traffic flow of 12th Avenue at Neil.

The Oval

The Ohio State University’s iconic green space provides a wonderful combination of walking paths and areas to stop and rest. The interconnecting sidewalks (though not along a street) allow people various efficient ways to reach a destination with the paths spanning in all sorts of directions.

A roadway around Thompson Library.

Following Neil Avenue up along the western edge of the Oval, the roadways prioritize foot traffic.

 

 

 

Southbound on College Road

With the Oval and the Union being popular areas for students from all around campus, College Road prioritizes street safety for vehicles and pedestrians alike.

As College Road departs from the curve of the eastern Oval edge and extends southward, the street becomes a bit awkward:

The transition of North College Road to South College Road is inefficient in street safety.

The sidewalks here, especially on the eastern side of the road, are very narrow compared to those around the Oval and farther south toward the Union. The crosswalk is situated awkwardly where pedestrians are not so easily noticeable to vehicles due to the oddly short setbacks of the surrounding buildings being located right at the curve of College Road. In my opinion, the street safety at this one busy location falls short of the expectations set by the majority of the rest of the university’s roadways. The rest of College Road, however, especially south of the turn, has far better street safety.

Sights of North High Street

This main roadway is a demarcation of the eastern boundary of the campus. It is highly vehicle-oriented, especially compared to the other roadways in the pedestrian-oriented campus area.

North High Street.

The condition of High Street varies depending on where it is analyzed. Generally, the condition worsens as it goes farther south.

There is at most a decent level of street safety. In my opinion, though, it is more dangerous than it is safe. Despite spanning the entire eastern border of campus and thus being a heavily walked roadway, the crosswalks are inadequate; the paint is worn and there are too few easily visible crossing signs, making it dangerous to cross the street. Crosswalks at intersections are relatively safe, but there are a couple that cross High Street in very random areas that are incredibly difficult to notice for drivers. Another part of that difficulty, I believe, comes from the narrow road widths, which do not allow as much visibility and potential for a driver to see a pedestrian and stop accordingly. It is difficult to quickly determine whether a pedestrian is about to cross because the pedestrian deviates so little from the often narrow sidewalks, which are often crowded with the limited setbacks of buildings along High Street.

Exploring 18th and 19th Avenue

18th Avenue and 19th Avenue are connections to multiple learning departments. This common building use is sensible for the location, as the buildings are all nearby and connected by the 18th-19th “loop” close to the north campus dorms. In the middle of this loop, there is a green space that not only allows pedestrians to travel between the two avenues via its pathways but also provides a sizeable area for sitting or relaxing. Its placement adds a break between the compact building arrangement seen through the rest of the area.

The 18th-19th Avenue area.

All along 18th and 19th Avenue are newly painted crosswalks that enhance street safety. The long, stark white lines running across the road are easily viewable even at night, allowing safe pedestrian use of the streets.

One of several parking garages found on campus.

At the corner of Neil and 19th, one of several parking garages on campus may be seen. There is ample availability of parking both on the street and in these garages; however, they are not as heavily used as they are able to handle.

Ramps allow access for people with disabilities. See also the “No Stopping Anytime” sign, meant to enhance street safety.

A recurring factor I noticed along my walk was the implementation of accessibility to people with disabilities. Several buildings use ramps (usually in addition to a staircase); if there is an entrance without easy accessibility, there is usually a posted sign directing people to another side of the building where there is a point of access. These features are necessary to allow people with handicaps access to their classrooms and resources.

 

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