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Renovations for transportation are underway at USU

Plans to shut down Aggie Boulevard was presented yesterday during an open house in the Taggart Student Center. This proposal was displayed along with other renovations outlined in a preliminary version of Utah State University’s new transportation plan.

“The purpose of this open house is really just to get people to comment and to let us know if they like these ideas,” said Jordy Guth, the campus planner for USU.

After reviewing the master plan displays, students and faculty were encouraged to provide feedback on the current plans for USU’s transportation system. Free Aggie Ice Cream vouchers were given to students who completed a recommendation form.

“We have a five, ten and 25 year plan and they all build off of each other," Guth said. "So it’s a phased plan that ranges from real immediate changes to the long term."

The closing of Aggie Boulevard was one of the main changes planned to take place over a 25 year period. According to Julie Bjornstad, a transportation planning consultant hired by USU, the street that runs through campus will be reconstructed to have sidewalks, protected cycling lanes and a section for bus traffic.

“There was a fair amount who didn’t like the idea initially, but they didn’t understand it,” said Preston Stinger, the other transportation planning consultant on the committee. “Now with some of these renderings it’s much easier to understand what it is and people are much more on board.”

“We’re not moving any of the bus stops and we’re not affecting the current sidewalks, we’re just reconfiguring what’s happening on the road,” said Bjornstad.

The purpose of the project was outlined in a press release from the steering committee on Monday, which stated the need for a “Comprehensive Transportation Plan” at USU.

“The goals developed by the steering committee are very oriented around reducing traffic and the single-occupancy vehicles coming to campus by getting people walking, biking and on the bus,” Stinger said.

“A lot of our goals are helping reduce the university’s carbon footprint and reduce vehicle trips to campus as well,” Bjornstad said. To accomplish this, the steering committee has been collaborating with Cache Valley Transit to establish a plan that will benefit those living farther from campus.

Monday’s press release also announced that funding for this plan will be provided through USUSA, the Division of Student Services and USU Facilities.

The actual cost of the renovation have yet to be determined, but student fees are not expected to increase as a result of the transportation renovations Stinger said. “After we solidify what the recommendations are based on today’s feedback, we’ll be looking into how much this is going to cost.”

The committee in charge of the master plan is composed of representatives from many groups on campus such as USUSA, athletics, parking and transportation, facilities, housing, dining, Aggie Blue Bikes and USU’s sustainability council. “We wanted to get an even representation between academia, auxiliaries and student groups,” Gurth said.

According to Stinger representatives from the steering committee, Aggie Shuttle and CVT traveled to Stanford University and University of California, Davis to review their facilities and discuss the successful aspects of their transportation system.

“Both of those campuses are very pedestrian and bike centric and have roads that are closed similar to this, so that’s why we used them as examples,” Stinger said.

Guth said the committee has also gone through a really in depth process of gathering information on campus. In addition to the open house, the steering committee sent out a transportation survey in the fall and attended the Open Streets Festival in October. “Some of the results of the survey and feedback acquired at the street festival is what’s being presented today.”

According to the survey results, 60 percent of the students and faculty who responded to the survey travel to campus in a single occupancy car. The survey also reported that 56 percent of respondents travel two miles or less to get to campus.

USU student Alyssa Hanson is a part of the 60 percent who drive to school alone. A suggestion she made was extending the service hours of Aggie Shuttle so that students such as herself would feel more comfortable staying on campus later without a car.

The steering committee will be meeting early May to go over the feedback and establish a strategy to address concerns. A finalized version of the master plan can be expected in June for public review.

Online feedback and suggestions for the new transportation plan can be submitted on the USU Parking and Transportation website, where current documentation of the plan can also be accessed.


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