As part of the UH master plan to improve the campus and increase pedestrian traffic, the University has begun taking steps toward closing portions of Cullen Boulevard and Holman Avenue from vehicular traffic.
The planned closures come after the UH System Board of Regents approved a request at a May 17 meeting at UH-Victoria to take possession of both streets from the city of Houston.
"We requested to take possession of these streets," Associate Vice President of Plant Operations Dave Irvin said in a release. "Now we must talk to the city, people in the Third Ward and the campus community about this matter."
The sections of Cullen Boulevard between Holman and Wheeler Street, and Holman between Scott Street and Cullen, would be pedestrian-only streets in accordance with the University’s plan to improve campus life.
Negotiations with elected officials and local community leaders are expected to take place over the summer in order to give the public an opportunity to comment on the University’s plan, Irvin said.
The plan alleges several benefits for students and faculty, such as improved campus security, a safer pedestrian environment and an increase of green space, along with reduced noise and air pollution for a more conducive learning environment.
Psychology doctoral candidate Carolina Jimenez said that Cullen’s makeover might hinder her ability to access familiar entrance points on campus.
"It seems that if we’re going to have better security, it might be worth it, but it also might be an inconvenience…. I’m not sure how it’s going to work out when we finally close Cullen Boulevard, how many entrances will we actually have to pass through," Jimenez said.
At the Board of Regents meeting, Irvin said that the streets should be closed gradually, from an initial partial closure to a permanent one. The UH Department of Public Safety would be able to enforce greater authority over traffic during large events taking place along Holman and Cullen, such as graduations or Houston Dynamo games, Irvin said.
The closure would also alter the location of traffic lights, lower the speed limit to reassure the safety of pedestrians and allow space for additional visitor parking on the west side of campus.
There is no deadline for the street closures, but the University hopes to adopt the areas by summer 2008. Texas Education Code 51.904 grants college institutions the ability to take possession of streets if they own all neighboring property, which requires 20 or more acres of property in the area where the streets are located.
The master plan is also intended to increase the University’s academically oriented space to 15 million square feet from the current 8 million, according to the University’s Web site on the plan. It would also double existing dormitory and parking space at a rate of $59 million, and use $223 million during the next five years to increase the number of students on campus.
Construction projects under the master plan will commence in the summer in order to accommodate for a projected increase in student enrollment in the next ten years, according to the Web site. Work on the utilities and foundation of a student residential loft complex next to the C.T. Bauer College of Business will take place later this month.
Despite the master plan’s alleged benefits, some see the closures as an inconvenience.
Communication junior Marylu Rodriguez, who commutes to campus, said she has grown frustrated with traffic delays and road construction, and believes the street closures will become an additional burden.
"We should use those funds for something that would benefit students, instead of just fixing one road," Rodriguez said.
