Principle Two

Prioritize the pedestrian experience with an auto-free core in Denton. 

Strategic Goal

Tame Bell Avenue

  • Use paving design to slow vehicular traffic
    • We recommend an additional stop at the campus core for the 4, 5, 6, DCTA buses.

Make it easier to get around the Denton campus

  • Designate bike and car share pick up and drop off locations
    • A majority of students, faculty, staff, and visitors will arrive to campus by personal vehicle. The masterplan orchestrates a sequence of arrival that includes the approach, crossing the campus threshold, and parking. Once out of the car, people are able to explore the campus at a much more meaningful and engaged manner, whether on foot, by shared bicycle, or some method of shared transportation such as the DCTA bus routes, a campus shuttle, or golf carts.
    • The masterplan also includes a network of bike paths. Some are integrated with roads, others are independent. With the appearance of several dock-less bike-share companies in the region, the plan also recommends designated parking so that these services can be enjoyed in a more organized manner.
  • Prioritize active transit with walking and cycling paths
    A map of proposed biking paths on TWU's Denton campus.
    • 90% of the student population arrive by car today. This creates on campus safety concerns crossing east-west, and leads to vehicular congestion in the center of campus as students, faculty and staff search for parking. Reduced vehicular traffic and congestion also improve safety, improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions. The walkability of campus is a key performance indicator that addresses social consecutiveness, fitness and wellbeing, convenience while reinforcing campus identity and Texas Woman’s culture.
    • The west campus, with its established public realm and walking paths, is utilized more by pedestrians than the east campus. There is already an established pedestrian infrastructure in place in proximity to downtown Denton (approximately a 0.50 mile walk). The community’s Walkscore is currently 33 out of 100. This could be enhanced by providing additional amenities such as grocery stores, cafes, and local shops in The Neighborhood Precinct. Safety is also an important factor to keep in mind with walkability, including proximity lighting and “eyes on the street.”
  • Brand precincts with distinct character and uses
    A rendering of bikers and pedestrians on a sidewalk.
    • Each precinct has its own unique characteristics and environment to easily identify where someone is within the Denton campus. The spatial relationships, views and vistas, and wayfinding strategies vary based on the formal or informal typology of the space. What should remain constant however, is the use of signage and lighting everywhere for the purpose of campus security.
    • Entry thresholds have formal architectural building elements to easily define when one is approaching or leaving campus. The mall and west campus utilize formal banners and elevated lighting so that the open spaces and circulation are adequately identified in areas where academic buildings exist. Precincts such as the east loop, neighborhood city grid, mixed-use potential Senior Living Community, and pond can have less formal wayfinding strategies that have fun and unique characteristics that blend into the existing environment and nature. The branding strategies can be more conducive to street signage and wayfinding, so that specific programming within each precinct is easy to find. For example, branding for the pond should relate to the community engagement feature of an ecological learning lab. The branding in The Neighborhood and east loop should very distinctly call out where housing or shops are located along a path/road. With the consolidation of all sports facilities, once one enters the vicinity, a uniform wayfinding strategy of smaller flag elements keep users oriented within the sports complex. These smaller, informal banners, or “flags” are different than the surrounding branding of the academic areas, generating a clear sense of place within the sports complex when a large game or event is taking place.
  • Connect the various precincts with a unified material palette, lighting and street furniture
    • The approach is to carefully consider each pathway, each special place
      in the plan, think about its character, the aspects of campus life that it is intended to support and propose the paving materials, planting materials, furniture and lighting best suited to achieving those ends. This involves a careful balance between a family of related parts whose goal is a campus wide identity but has built into it enough flexibility to distinguish several key places on campus as unique.

Page last updated 2:07 PM, June 24, 2020