A survey conducted by OU students to evaluate campus pedestrian
facilities gave landscaping and furnishing the highest marks while
drainage received the lowest.

This study involved two four-person teams of regional and city
planning and civil engineering students, each armed with a
checklist of things that contribute to the quality of a
pedestrian’s experience on campus.

Each group came up with different answers for the campus’s
overall relationship with pedestrians and transportation.

“I think that in many ways the study speaks for
itself,” said Sarah Jo Peterson, assistant professor of
regional and city planning. “My goal is to help the students
think about pedestrian transportation as a classroom
exercise.”

Though the teams chose slightly different routes to walk, the
overall study area involved a circle of 0.8 miles with the center
at Bizzell Memorial Library and the edges at Sarkeys Energy Center
and the Duck Pond parking lots. The area encompasses the heart of
campus along with high pedestrian areas such as campus housing,
parking areas, facilities and Campus Corner shops.

This conforms to the national average taken from the 2002
National Survey of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Attitudes and
Behaviors.

Applied to all five main campus paths, OU was ranked according
to a 10-point scale. The scores of each category were averaged into
the three highest and the three lowest strengths and weaknesses of
the OU pedestrian facility.

“What both teams found, in general, was that pedestrian
facilities were very good in the middle of campus, said Donald
Parker, regional and city planning graduate student.
“Overall, the central campus is very good.”

The greatest strength of OU pedestrian facilities is landscaping
and furnishing, according to the regional and city planning
checklist.

The teams found that pedestrians have an attractive setting to
gather, rest, socialize and orient themselves. Trees, gardens,
benching and light fixtures are all key features.

The second greatest strength is road complexity. This provides
pedestrians with numerous route choices to help them get to where
they want to go.

The third greatest strength was areas of interest. The presence
and variation of public spaces along pedestrian routes ensures
walks are broken up and interesting. These include plazas, statues,
civic art, fountains and food courts.

The greatest weakness is drainage, according to the study.
Pathways with inadequate drainage, causing standing water and
cracked concrete on some sidewalks, keep pedestrians from taking
future trips.

Crosswalks, where pedestrians interact with moving vehicles, is
the second greatest weakness. Safe passages and continual paths to
pedestrians’ destinations are needed, and there needs to be
minimal obstructions in drivers’ line of sight over fading
painted crosswalks and crossing pedestrians, according to the
study.

“Safety is a big thing,” said Derick Thompson, civil
engineering senior. “Street lights and the blue Safewalk
lights help as well.”

Enclosure is the third greatest weakness. Enclosure involves
providing pedestrians with well-defined edges in order to focus
their eyes along their path of interest among blank spaces between
or in front of buildings. Empty space created by parking lots and
building setup is not consistent throughout campus.

There are several issues on student-traffic control, Parker
said. There are crosswalks in the area surveyed but nothing to
encourage drivers to consider pedestrians, Parker said.
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