Ignacio Bunster-Ossa believes that landscaping can raise the livability of the College Avenue Campus and that a plaza and pedestrian walkways with trees and plantings would go a long way in making the campus more welcoming and encouraging interaction.
During a 30-minute presentation and nearly an hour of questions and answers, Bunster-Ossa, of Wallace Roberts & Todd, and Mark Dwyer of TEN Arquitectos, explained to members of the Rutgers community some of the landscaping changes they propose for College Avenue.
About 100 people, including students, staff and residents of New Brunswick, came to the Rutgers Student Center on the evening of October 15 for an informational session on the first phase of the Vision for College Avenue.
The design team of TEN Arquitectos and Wallace Roberts & Todd were selected from a group of five finalists by President Richard L. McCormick in December 2006. At that time, the president said that the university would “place priority on those elements of the plan that can be accomplished soon, such as making the public and pedestrian spaces more attractive and appealing.”
The university has committed $15 million to this first phase of what will be a multiyear project.
Although the team stressed that the proposals were “very preliminary,” team members at the meeting made it clear that their goal is to strike a balance between academic and residential life, transportation and open space on College Avenue, which they see as the spine of the campus.
The design team proposals include:
- creating a “College Avenue Plaza” stretching from Senior to Bartlett Streets in which only Rutgers buses would be allowed
- installing a water feature and pedestrian walkway that would connect the plaza to George Street
- creating a more seamless environment between pedestrian and transportation spaces
- narrowing the car lanes, widening the pedestrian walkways, and planting trees on both sides of the pedestrian walkways
- planting trees and flowering shrubs that are native to New Jersey (therefore, more sustainable) and whose colors reflect the scarlet of Rutgers
- installing dedicated bicycle lanes
- burying the utility lines along College Avenue
The design team also recognized that students must travel from place to place during the school day, so they are making access to Rutgers’ buses an integral part of their plan and trying to improve the connectivity between different parts of College Avenue. Bunster-Ossa said that their design proposal celebrates the activity of transportation.
While the reaction to these preliminary plans was largely positive, a number of those in attendance voiced concerns about how alterations to College Avenue would hinder traffic flow and reduce parking.
The design team said their proposal takes those factors into account and includes plans for parking on the periphery of College Avenue and bus routes that would link parking areas to the central campus.
Antonio Calcado, Rutgers Vice President of Facilities and Capital Planning, told the audience that the university is conducting a transportation study and the results would be part of the College Avenue plan. In addition, the plans are being developed with the input of New Brunswick officials.
Calcado says the design team will continue to gather information and get additional input before presenting a final design. He said the university hopes to break ground for the project by late spring of next year.