Campus plan ready for approval

An overhaul of the 16-year-old “master plan” for UW’s main Waterloo campus will come to the board of governors for approval in February, with promises for improved open spaces at the centre of the campus, but fewer surface parking lots around the edges.

The university senate got a preview of the document at its November 17 meeting from Joe Berridge, who heads Urban Strategies, the Toronto-based firm that developed the plan. Berridge — who also serves UW as honorary chair of the Campaign Waterloo segment for the school of planning — was a key figure when the previous plan was developed in 1992 by a predecessor firm, Berridge Lewinberg Greenberg.

The original plan has worked out very well, Berridge told the meeting, but “we were beginning to nibble into the internal open spaces” with massive construction in the past few years. That prompted a review and rewriting, and “we have almost a final product now,” he said, taking senate members quickly through a plan that looks very much like what was presented for comment from across campus earlier this fall.

Justin Williams, president of the Federation of Students, had praise for that consultation process, which included displays in the Student Life Centre and the Davis Centre. As a result of it, he said, students feel that their opinions have been taken into account.

“The campus landscape in our view needs a story line,” said Berridge. He reiterated that with recent infill construction, the campus is no longer the parkland it once was. In fact, it’s now almost an urban area, in keeping with what lies beyond it. “The city, which used to be somewhat to the south of you, has now almost entirely embraced you,” he observed. “The university will become an integrated part of the city.”

(And UW’s property is now tending to be referred to in plural terms: there’s the south campus between University Avenue and Columbia Street, the east campus along Phillip Street, the north campus beyond Columbia, and the northwest campus on the right bank of Laurel Creek.)

The university can’t keep putting up buildings on the remaining open spaces at its centre, he said. “You have to move outside the ring road, at the edges.” Inevitably that means buildings on some of the space that’s now used for surface parking — and despite efforts to get people coming to campus by bus, by bike and by the planned rapid transit line, there will still be a need to park thousands of cars somewhere. The result: parking garages.

Said Berridge: “At the same time as we invest in buildings, we’ve got to invest in the open space.” The result is a new emphasis on the “pedestrian spine” (see graphic) that already runs roughly north-south through the middle of the campus. He described it as linking “a network of strong open spaces” such as the rock garden and quadrangles, including new ones that can be defined by landscaping.

Although Berridge didn’t specifically mention it at the senate meeting, maps in the master plan document show the historic Graduate House continuing to stand — a building that was previously thought to be threatened by the pressure for building space on the engineering side of the campus.

One building that wouldn’t survive, judging from the maps, is South Campus Hall, as Berridge and his colleagues hope to reshape the main entrance to campus and put up new buildings framing the south end of the pedestrian spine. Among other things, they could provide new space for the bookstore and other services now located in SCH.

One senate member asked Berridge about “universal design”, which provides access for disabled people right along with increased convenience for everybody else. New buildings absolutely will meet such standards, he replied, adding that it’s more difficult for “historic” structures: “One has to retrofit those conditions as one can.”

Another member asked about the future of the Health Services building, designed by noted Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama in 1968, and now considered much too small for the demands placed on it. “We are aware of that problem,” said UW provost Amit Chakma, “but we don’t have a concrete plan.”

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Hugs, happiness and human kindness

“Four hugs a day, that’s the minimum,” according to a kids’ song about the vital need for touching. You should be able to reach today’s quota if you make your way over to the Arts Lecture Hall today between 11:00 and 2:00. The Arts Student Union hopes to have 1,000 people fanning out from there, “giving hugs (and high-fives) across campus”. Allan Babor, president of the ASU, explains that it’s “a chance to give back to your fellow students, at a highly stressful time, with a much needed act of kindness,” but I imagine that non-students could also benefit. The free-hug celebration drew newspaper publicity when it was held at a similar point last winter term, and there’s a video of the results on YouTube.

A more spiritual approach to matters will surface this afternoon in the Student Life Centre, thanks to the UW Compass Catholic Fellowship. The event starts at 2:30 with a talk by Rev. William Lawrence of a Catholic group called the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, which among other things provides liturgy in the traditional Latin in Ontario’s Hamilton diocese. His topic: “The Pursuit of Happiness and What Makes People the Most Joyful”. An opportunity for questions will follow.

Speaking of joy, with Christmas on the horizon there is always an increased emphasis on charitable activities across campus. My own office has a collection box for donations to the Out of the Cold program (socks and such for homeless people), and I would be glad to give Daily Bulletin mentions to other projects of this kind that are under way. Also this week: the student Legal Studies Society is collecting contributions to the local Food Bank at its office on the first floor of St. Jerome’s University; a subset of the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group is in the Math and Computer building taking orders for Krispy Kreme doughnuts (delivery on Friday) in support of the Free the Children Clean Water Campaign.

In just a slightly different warm-and-fuzzy category comes a follow-up to the article about Bob Norman, retired from UW’s department of kinesiology, that appeared in the Daily Bulletin two weeks ago. “It’s really not fair,” a reader wrote, “to post such a lovely photo of Dr. Norman without mentioning his beautiful companion’s name. And I’m dying to know if the mystery dog is a Labradoodle like my Tucker!” Norman found time, in between his musical efforts and his work helping to lead UW’s Keystone Campaign, to send an answer: “The dog, Sheba, who is now 13 and sings quite well when our quartet sings, is a Dalmatian/standard poodle mix.”

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Announcements from all over campus

Maybe you can't read every word in the flyer that's reproduced at right, so here are the essential facts, in the words of Dave Pritchard, vice-president (communications and organization) for the Graduate Student Association: "The GSA will be holding a semi-formal buffet dinner and dance on December 13 in South Campus Hall. This will be one of the biggest GSA events ever, second only to the lineup of 300 grad students at this year's Welcome Week. One compelling reason for graduate students to go is that tickets cost only $25; this is due to funding made available by the GSA specifically for the event. A second reason to check it out is that there will be live music before and after dinner, provided by Mint — a Toronto musical collective recently featured on CBC Radio One. Tickets are on sale until December 1 at the Grad House. Full details are online."

Freda Sokolowski, who has been a custodian in UW's plant operations department since February 1989, will officially retire on December 1. • The Federation of Students says nominations for its 2009-10 executive will be open January 5 through 23, with the annual election following in February. • Renison College's non-credit courses in "Arabic for Beginners" will be offered at two levels during the winter term, one for students who know the alphabet and one for those who don't.

A note that could be important to staff and faculty members wanting to check their net pay or other personal data online this Friday — payday — and over the weekend: the human resources department says the "myHRinfo" system will be unavailable because of maintenance from noon on Friday, November 28, until noon on Monday, December 1.

“As North America confronts the greatest economic crisis in 70 years,” says a news release from the Centre for International Governance Innovation, “the regulatory and security measures on the Canada-U.S. border are negatively affecting both countries’ ability to maintain their competitive edge in an era of global financial crisis and emerging economies. The report issued by the Canadian International Council calls for the urgent establishment of a Permanent Joint Border Commission to address the alarming economic consequences by the increased regulatory fees and security measures implemented after 9/11. The report, entitled A New Bridge for Old Allies, reviews the current border issues within a framework of three pillars: security, transportation strategy, and economic competitiveness and innovation. . . . Canada and the U.S. appear to be moving in the opposite direction with serious consequences at these challenging economic times. The auto industry, currently facing unprecedented financial challenges, is an example of a sector which has been adversely affected by the layering of border measures. The report urges the U.S. to work collaboratively with its Canadian partner to speed the flow of legitimate trade and people across the border.”

UW's continuing education office is offering one-day sessions on "Managing Work Expectations" tomorrow, and "Introduction to Managerial Accounting" on Thursday. • A display of commemorative banners from UW's 50th anniversary (last year), the 40th (in 1997), and the 25th (in 1982) is now hanging in a spot best viewed from the lower level of the Davis Centre library. • My flying fingers caused UW's alumni e-newsletter to be called "@Waterloo", in a mention in yesterday's Daily Bulletin, when it's really "@UWaterloo".

CAR

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