Please share your insights, reactions and ideas on the new UAA Master Plan 2012 as it unfolds here on the blog. NOTE: This thread is in chronological order, with newest posts at the bottom. We have enabled replies to comments so that planners have the opportunity to reply to specific comments.
Thank you.
The goals of the 2017 plan are good, but UAA needs to give them more than lip service. Expand programs that serve underrepresented students like RRANN, add the other half of the HSB building, and show the community that it is welcome at UAA.
ReplyDeleteEngineering, Health and Science have all built, or will build, new buildings. Bring balance to UAA facilities with support to the arts. New buildings will expand the arts capabilities for research, provide opportunities for community development and boost enrollment. It will also boost the presence of Alaska Native arts on campus. Currently only the ANSEP building embodies the idea of Alaskan Native art and heritage.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that response, Jonathon.
ReplyDeleteUAA needs more students involved in on-campus student life, so it needs more student residences. The current ones are excellent, e.g., East Hall and Gorsuch Commons, compared to many, many other campuses. But there isn't enough.
ReplyDeleteA serious fund-raising effort is needed to get this going, but it is something that the community could get behind.
It would also be good if this blogsite worked with Safari, and worked properly with Firefox.
Hi Bill, thanks for your input. Also, please feel free to call me at 786-1490 to describe issues with safari and or firefox. We would consider scrapping the layout if it is interfering with folks commenting and getting at the information.
ReplyDeleteOne tip we have discovered that eases use. When you open the site, pull the lower right hand corner to widen the window as far as your screen allows. This seems to help the hyperlinks work. There is a layer beneath the Welcome statement that wants to block hyperlinks if it is over top of them. Widening the screen moves that layer as far to the right as possible and seems to help all links to work.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if UAA has been developing since I have been attending UAA. These plans in place are going to improve certain programs but we need to shift the focus to the student experience and understand what limitation we have with space and build and expand current building/upgrading them effectively over summer not during the school year.
ReplyDeleteAlso like Bill said the student housing needs to be improve in order to expand enrollment and the parking situation will improve with the new parking garage but still needs improvement because so many student live off campus because there isn't housing available and the parking for the new sports arena utilizing the hospital parking garage to me doesn't make a lot of since because those spots are not guaranteed to the arena and there is only 300 spots outside.
I think that the next project on the list should be a multipurpose recreation field. Perferably have a full sized track around a football field that is large enough to play college football, soccer, and have track and field competitions. We have a great athletic program but more emphasis needs to be spend on building a field for us use that is on campus. This will benefit all students as it will be home to recreational activities. Our intermural soccer teams play soccer in a basketball gym while every highschool in Anchorage has a turf for their students. More focus needs to be put on a reacreation center and a playing field.
ReplyDeleteAlong with building and expanding UAA, we need to also take into account that Uaa-ans love the trails and greenery...the four months out of the year that it is...so we should ensure the use of aesthetic green space and leave the trails for runners, skiers, etc.
ReplyDeleteI have a professor who jokes architecture is illegal in Anchorage and to a large extent he is right. UAA should be a leader in promoting architecture in Alaska, but it does not seem to be making any commitment to improve the architectural environment of the campus. The master plan architectural guidelines call for building designs to “achieve visual consistency…,” and “create a unified image for the main campus...,” which seems to say there is no vision beyond building more buildings that will look like the Health Sciences Building, the Conoco Phillips Integrated Science Center, and the future engineering building. There is a distinct lack of vision as to what a modern university campus should look like, but it should not look like an office park made up of identical buildings. Also, there is almost nothing to indicate that you have entered the campus area; there are virtually no gateways that signify you are entering the UAA/APU/Providence campus area, which reduces our visibility in the community. Campus also lacks cohesive connections between green spaces; we have a traditional quad on the west side of campus that give way to parking lots and a wooded bike trail that connects a parking lot to the engineering buildings loading dock. While the connection from the heart of campus to the trail network northeast of campus is basically a side walk next to a parking lot.
ReplyDeleteThey should build a skybridge connecting Administration building and Consortium Library.
ReplyDeleteI think UAA should include a feasibility study of personal rapid transit (PRT) for UAA and the UMED district. If you didn't know, PRT is an emerging transit technology, it is explained in depth here:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_rapid_transit
I know it may seem pie-in-the-sky to those who have never seen or heard of it, but they have working systems out there in the world and are building and planning systems as well. (please read wiki entry).
I think the first concrete step would be to do a planning/feasibility study. I think this could be included in a state transportation appropriation bill so as not to compete with UA priorities in an education bill.
I've really studied likely PRT routing patterns and I think I have a good idea about what a PRT route network would look like at UAA. I have an old campus master plan that I carefully drew on what I think a PRT network route would look like. When and where should I send it so you can look at it?
There is a UAA theatre and dance department, though the facilities are in seperate buildings over the entire campus. An overall performing arts building would be nice because if there is essentially a big multimillion dollar basketball court court being built, than a few new dance and theatre facilities can be instituted.
ReplyDeleteSo there are couple things I'd like to comment about UAA.
ReplyDelete1. so... I've noticed that many restrooms in UAA is supportive for disability people. That is very awesome, but how can they open the door when they are on wheel chair??? For examples, restrooms in Student Union and CPISB... they all have toilets for disabilities and have disability supporting sign under gender signs, but do not have any electronic door. I opened door more than dozen of times during this semester for people who are on wheel chair, or have cast on one are & have textbooks in another arm. This seriously needs to be changed.
2. There are no cafeteria access on Friday afternoon and weekends. I see many clubs or study groups hanging around Kaladi's or library, yet they are closed from Friday 14:00 and entire weekends. Those people complain about how they can't get any coffee or sandwiches to fill their hunger. Among them, myself. I wish they would extend opening time. Student Union has Information desk that sells couple refreshments and snacks, which you could say that West Campus is covered. But how about East Campus where library is? During weekends and Friday is best time for students to study and they gather up. But they often go out and drive to some places to get food and drinks, which kills quite a time. I think it would be better to have some sort of solution for East Campus dining for Friday afternoon and weekends.
The layout of the UAA Campus and what I've seen of graphic presentations for future campus development make plain that the UAA is suffering from a lack of a well-developed comprehensive Master Plan, a plan which does not merely show general areas where future types of development are anticipated, but a representation of the campus, in plan view, showing anticipated configurations of as many future buildings as are conceived today.
ReplyDeleteI also suggest that to develop this Master Plan, the University solicit the services of an internationally acknowledged City and Regional Planning firm -- preferably one which has substantial experience in consulting with some of the world's major universities.
I am reminded of my undergraduate days at the University of California at Berkeley where I received my Architecture Degree, and where I once saw a large (about 8' x 10') Master Plan for the University, executed by the University's Architect, John Galen Howard. Mr. Howard attempted to lay out every square inch of the campus, showing in aerial view each future building, road, walkway, and atheletic field. It was a remarkable exercise which became the basic for a century of development at the University. Today, in looking at Mr. Howard's plan, it is clear that not every building was built as he imagined, and not every road and walkway was installed according to his plan, but his plan served as a guiding star for the century that followed until today, the Berkeley campus, one of the most picturesque college campuses in the world, is clearly the result of John Galen Howard's vision.
I believe that UAA would benefit immensely if a talented, respected, experienced planning firm were to develop a "pictorial" Master Plan for the University of Alaska, just as John Galen Howard developed for the University of California at Berkeley around 1910.
Stephan C. Paliwoda (paly@gci.net)
At the UACC Meeting, we listened to a description of a new 4-story parking garage, to be constructed on the west side of University Drive (I believe Livingston-Slone are the architects). After looking at some hand-out aerial renderings of the garage, I realized that there may be a feature the University may wish to include as part of the construction:
ReplyDeleteI suggest that a Security Room be attached to the garage, where 2 to 4 security guards can be stationed on a 24-hour basis to watch over a dozen or more video screens receiving input from numerous video cameras stationed strategically at all floors of the structure. The fact is, women (students, faculty, administration and the general public) will be parking cars in the new facility at all hours of the day and night, and I am afraid this will mean that the garage structure will automatically become a magnet for stalkers, rapists and other undesirables. This is not a pleasant thought, but I have lived in Anchorage for 36 years, and know that our wonderful town has a sleazy underbelly that fairly regularly reveals itself in newspaper headlines about women being attacked in almost all parts of town.
Once again, I suggest that the new UAA Parking Structure that is to be built on University Drive be provided with 24-hour comprehensive visual surveillance, plus the immediate presence of security personnel for the safety of all its users, and in particular, for the safety of its female users.
Note from moderator Kathleen McCoy-The next several posts are all from Paul Stang. Blogspot will only allow 4,000 characters in a comment. Paul's comment was longer, so I have broken it into several comments.
ReplyDeletePaul Stang writes:
Thanks to UAA for initiating this blog for the update to its Master Plan. The blog should cover activity from now until the new plan ends. UAA Master Plan decision makers should view public input as a prime source of ideas that UAA can draw from in shaping the key details of the master plan and project developed under the plan.
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IN UAA’S Projects
The State of Alaska provides about 1/3 of the University of Alaska funds. Those funds are to be used on behalf of the citizens of Alaska, so we all have a right to a timely opportunity to express our opinion regarding their use.
UAA’s latest Master Plan update was in 2009. UAA is now planning a new $78 million Engineering and Industry building on Providence Drive and $28.5 million more for an associated 500-car parking garage on the west side of UAA Drive. In the 2009 Master Plan, the area in which the parking garage is proposed was designated for “Academics.” The plan had not been modified to re-designate the area for a garage.
While this project was in the works for many months, to my knowledge no public meetings about these two buildings were held before a preliminary package of architectural graphics drawings and textual description were sent to the Muni. UAA made presentations at three community council meetings (U-Med on 11/7, Roger’s Park on 11/12 and Tudor on 12/6) before UAA Regents approved the plans on 12/7. The Airport Heights Community Council first heard about the buildings on 12/20/12, two weeks after approval. The Muni formally received UAA’s complete package of drawings the next day.
Clearly, this expedited schedule didn’t allow enough time for the community to hear about the two new buildings, get involved in a respectful exchange of views and submit comments that could influence the design or location.
UAA should have come to the community council meetings to ask for comments early in the planning process. Given that the location and fundamental aspects of the design were completed before the presentations, it seems that UAA’s objective was not to seek public input, but simply to tell the community what is going to happen. That is not adequate public involvement for state funded projects that affects many people. UAA should seek full public involvement and hold an early stage public hearing for the Master Plan and for each major building project.
-- Paul Stang
(Comment continues below)
Paul Stang continues:
ReplyDeleteSPECIFIC CONCERNS ABOUT THE LOCATION OF THE 500-CAR GARAGE
The Engineering and Industry Building is well located, but the garage is not. In the 12/21 formal submission to the Muni, UAA states that "[T]here are no known negative impacts that would be generated by this project." I believe that negative impacts would occur as described in some of the points below.
Traffic is already bumper-to-bumper at critical times on UAA Drive because it is one of only two routes to the campus from the north. The Alaska State Highway Department found that the accident rate at UAA Drive and Northern Lights Blvd is already about twice what would be expected at such an intersection. In early 2012, they made a plan (“HSIP Northern Lights Blvd @ UAA Drive Channelization Improvements”) to add lanes to move Northern Lights Blvd. traffic onto to and off of UAA Drive more quickly. The State Highway Department acknowledged that the plan was only a temporary fix to relieve but not solve the traffic congestion at that intersection. However, the additional weekday traffic (certainly hundreds if not thousands of cars) turning onto UAA Drive to get to the proposed parking garage will likely undermine the Highway Department’s plan causing further traffic delays and raising questions about vehicle safety. Bicyclist and pedestrians along UAA Drive may be put at further risk because the HSIP plan would narrow the buffer between the road and the sidewalk on the east side. Since the first snow this season, several northbound vehicles have veered off the pavement of UAA Drive, across the buffer and ended up across the sidewalk. Fortunately, so far no one has been seriously injured.
Student pedestrian crossing on UAA Dr. near Providence Dr. should be resolved. This crossing causes substantial delays in both north and south UAA traffic. The problem is well known but no effective action to resolve it has been taken. Clearly, the parking garage would substantially increase pedestrian traffic across UAA Dr. at this crossing. Furthermore, students will likely cross UAA Dr. at Mallard Lane creating additional hazards. This is likely for two reasons, a) no sidewalk is planned on the west side of UAA Dr. and, b) an existing foot/bicycle path heading east from UAA Drive starts just opposite the proposed garage location, tempting pedestrians to go directly across UAA Dr.
-- Paul Stang
(Comment continues in post below)
SPECIFIC CONCERNS ABOUT THE LOCATION OF THE 500-CAR GARAGE
ReplyDelete(CONTINUED)
Don’t put the garage on in the middle of a greenway. The parking garage will destroy a sizeable chunk of the UAA Drive greenway. UAA already has lots of parking lots especially on the west side of campus and would be wiser to build this and any other new parking garages on those lots. Keep the campus as green as possible and if need be use such prime land for low profile academic buildings and/or the Chancellor’s home.
UAA should concentrate parking on the west side of campus rather than scattering it around the current perimeter of Campus. UAA could greatly reduce traffic by creating a public transit hub on the underutilized and already paved west side of campus. And should buy a few more shuttle buses that make a circuit around campus so that students and faculty have to wait no more than 5 minutes at a stop. The present schedule of every 15 minutes is not frequent enough to move between classes. At the 12/6/12 Tudor Community Council meeting, UAA reps talked generally about a long-term vision of something like this. Why not start now? And a garage on the west side of campus would be just as close to the new Engineering and Industry building site and could easily be linked to it by a skywalk.
Goose Lake Park is a beautiful, peaceful community asset that is directly affected by the placement of nearby UAA buildings. The new ConocoPhillips Science building is an excellent facility and architecturally pleasing from the front entrance. But the rear of the building, with its factory-like appearance and loud exhaust vent stacks, is a scar on the vista from the park. The proposed 50-foot tall parking garage that will be visible and brightly lit in winter will also intrude on the beauty of the park. It is hard to understand why UAA intentionally would diminish the uniqueness, intimacy and integrity of a park that is so integral to its campus. UAA should pay as much attention to the view of its buildings from outside the campus as it does from within campus.
-- Paul Stang
(Comment continues below)
Paul Stang continues:
ReplyDeleteSUPPORT SERVICES AND FACILITIES
UAA’s 2009 plan has designated the wooded areas across UAA Drive from Goose Lake Park as a zone for Support Services and Facilities. Such facilities, that presumably would house heavy, noisy equipment, would displace additional greenway, further degrade the park and add substantially to the congestion on UAA Drive. That makes no sense. The paved west side of campus also would be much more suitable for any additional support services and facilities.
ZONES OF USE IN THE MASTER PLAN
Finally, UAA’s stated intent to only disclose zones of use in its Master Plans, rather than any details of the buildings they envision in those zones is a bad idea. UAA should be more forthcoming to the community on its plans, not less.
I look forward to hearing UAA’s response to the above points. Also, I would appreciate it if UAA would put notes on this blog from the recording of the public discussion of the UAA presentation at the 12/6/12 Tudor Community Council meeting.
Thank you.
Paul Stang
(End of comment sections from Paul Stang)
Generally I like the plan and efforts being made to create geographic centers on campus. As a department chair, though, I'm opposed to moving all CAS departments to the east end for two reasons: 1) The rebuild of BMH was designed with three CAS programs in mind and it would be a shame to then move these programs (including my own department of Geography and Environmental Studies). 2) I think that nodes of CAS should be spread throughout the campus. Unlike many of the professional programs, CAS disciplines serve the entire teaching mission of the university and I think it's a good idea to give CAS visibility to students from other colleges and show that the college is built into the fabric of the school.
ReplyDeleteJPC is not opposed to moving from West Campus to East Campus, but as we explained during the comment period we have a television studio and production space that would be difficult and expensive to replicate somewhere else on campus. We have worked to upgrade the space with new equipment over the past several years, but it is the physical space—one of the largest television studios in the state—that cannot move the way some programs can. We would be opposed to a move that would mean any reduction in the quality and size of our television and film production space.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Paola Banchero
Chair, Department of Journalism and Public Communications
HI
ReplyDeleteI am UA Faculty and while reviewing your Master Plan for UAA campus wondered if you had any information about where you plan to house the Tanaina Child Development Center during and after construction?
I can't say enough about the wonderful staff, teachers and director at Tanaina. My kids have been attending for 3 years and my youngest will continue through much of the construction for the next several years. Tanaina teachers are an unbelievable group, passionate about early learning and have made a huge difference in the growth and development of my two young children. Because of their dedication, I am able to continue teaching for UAF (via elearning)and UAA (on campus) full time, and offer high quality courses to undergraduates interested in health related careers. These students often tell me that finding high quality child care like Tanaina in the community is difficult to find and sometimes this effects their decisions to stay in or return to college.
Thanks again for your continued support of Tanaina and I am excited to stay tuned as the master plan unfolds.
Have a great week,
Jennifer
--
Jennifer Meyer RN, MPH, CPH
Assistant Professor of Allied Health
our current plans are to include the cost of a new Child Development Center to be located near the College of Education in the project to renovate or replace WFSC. The initial planning and design for that project is just now getting under way. It is likely that our initial efforts at WFSC will be to provide minimum renovation to the spaces occupied by Athletics after they relocate to the new Sports Arena in August 2014. Tanaina, will likely remain at WFSC until either a major renovation or replacement project for WFSC is funded at a future date. With the current funding climate, that may not occur for several years to come. Hope this answers the mail. Thanks, John Faunce, Facilities Planning & Construction
Delete