Campus Planning Framework at X
Campus planning is a process that examines how people interact with and use campus environments, including where they park, how they get around and how they use academic, living and recreation spaces.
StFX has embarked on a campus planning process to better understand how our community interacts with the campus environment, including parking, traffic flow and shared areas like pedestrian and green spaces. Our process will also seek to identify areas of campus suitable for future development.
The idea is to develop a framework plan” that builds on the ways our campus environment is working, recognizes the attributes that make us unique and suggests what we might improve over the next 2, 5, 10 or even 20 years.
What’s Being Proposed?
Our planning process is still underway, but a draft version of the framework is now available to review. While some of the opportunities identified may not be considered for a number of years, the construction of Mulroney Hall (anticipated to begin spring 2017) gives StFX the opportunity to test, or pilot, some ideas over the next 18 months.
Two such ideas involve strategies for reducing vehicular traffic in targeted sections of campus, and designating spaces as pedestrian-only or shared-use.
These include Martha Drive, which could become a pedestrian plaza closed to most vehicular traffic, with the exception of service and emergency vehicles. Another idea would see the section of Notre Dame Avenue in front of Lane Hall convert to a pedestrian plaza that restricts vehicular traffic to certain events or times of the day.
Parking could also be moved primarily to the perimeter of campus to support our goal of making StFX more pedestrian-friendly. With this is mind, StFX is aware of needing to ensure accessible parking across campus for people with special mobility considerations and maintain appropriate service access for all our facilities.
Where can I view the most recent framework presentation?
You can view the presentation from January 10, 2017, here and send your feedback to campusplanning@stfx.ca by Friday, February 3rd.
