Officials unveil draft of campus master plan at the University of Maryland
By Spencer Israel
In Facilities Management's second on-campus forum this semester, university officials presented the first draft of the department's new master plan, highlighting eco-friendly transportation and campus-wide beautification projects.
About 20 university community members attended the nearly two-hour discussion on the Facilities Master Plan — the guide to on-campus development for the next 20 years — that largely centered around how to make the campus more friendly to bicyclists, pedestrians and motor vehicles, an area DOTS bicycle coordinator John Brandt said needs drastic improvement.
"When you're providing for vehicles and pedestrians, you also have to provide for bicycles," he said. "There also needs to be a multi-access sidewalk across campus."
Lisa Delplace, the chief executive officer of a landscaping firm hired to consult on the plan, said this will be achieved by redeveloping the land behind McKeldin Library to better accommodate pedestrian traffic and converting the space occupied by Lot 1 into new academic buildings, a parking garage and a tree-lined road.
"It's not saying ‘cars are not welcome,'" Delplace said. "It's creating a better choice for traveling on campus. Why do people get into their cars a mile from campus?"
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