This tag was created by Edward Harthorn. The last update was by Andrea Davis.
Sidewalks & Walkability
In an oral history account for the university's 75th anniversary, Tex Plunkett related the story as follows: "After Wilson Hall was completed, Mr. Cooley, who was a lawyer uptown, an excellent lawyer, had been on the board for a long time. He wanted the building named after him so badly, he hurt. So one board meeting he came to the meeting early. Mr. Banks always got there a little early with his revolver. So Mr. Cooley was a little man and bald headed.... And he said, 'I think this building ought to be named Banks Hall.' Of course, he expected Mr. Banks to say, 'No, Cooley.' Mr. Banks looked at him with piercing blue eyes--looked at him and said, "Mr. Cooley, you don't have any money, and I don't have any money, but Mr. R. E. Lee Wilson has a lot of money. And there's a log of sidewalks that needs to be built and trees need to be planted, and landscaping needs to be done, so I think we better name it Wilson Hall.' Mr. Wilson hadn't showed up yet, of course. He had farther to come than anyone else. So they kicked it around and Mr. Wilson came in, and Mr. Banks said, 'Mr. Wilson, we have named this building Wilson Hall. It's got a little proviso on it. You are going to have to finish the grounds and plant some trees.' And some of the elm trees that you see on campus today were planted then. So Mr. Wilson lived up to his agreement. He sent [mule] teams and men over here and graded the grounds and planted the trees, and they built sidewalks and that sort of thing. Now that's how Wilson Hall got its name" [1].
Over the years, it seems that A-State students have either been very attentive or apathetic toward these expanses of concrete. In a student survey in 1978, one of the complaints was the sidewalks were not being cleared often enough, but at the same time another complaint was that folks were cutting through the grass in numerous places instead of staying on the paths [2].
On several brainstorms for campus design studies, students have often brought up the senior walk tradition at the University of Arkansas, where graduating seniors' names have been etched in sidewalks since 1905, and wondered why Arkansas State does not have a similar tradition.
Near the end of the 20th century, consultants began recommending that sidewalk and bikeway construction take increased priority along with other more motorist-oriented improvements. A 1997 study noted that "Linkages between the campus and surrounding established areas of the community could be strengthened.... Resident students rely on automobiles to travel to even nearby services." The study also observed that previous developments had been basic at best: "In general, the walkway system on campus has evolved from sidewalks along streets and the paving of the desire lines between buildings. The walkway system lacks hierarchy, with most sidewalks being only wide enough for two people abreast. This condition makes bicycling around campus difficult as well" [3].
As the study pointed out, even motorists would benefit from improvements to the non-motorist transportation system: "There are a number of crosswalks on campus streets that receive heavy use. These are near the Reng Center, on Caraway Road at the Post Office, and at the Physical Education building. There have [been] many accidents reported despite signals, signs and flashing lights, making pedestrian safety a high priority. This issue is tied to managing traffic flow through the heart of campus, and the location of parking areas" [4].
While many of the recommendations of the report were followed, a cultural arboretum around the perimeter of the campus has not seen any development 20+ years later. The plan for the arboretum, pictured here, shows several distinct areas of plantings linked by a common pathway. Some of the areas correlated with what already existed, such as a strip of pine trees along the border with Highway 49, but other sections called for a completely new agricultural orchard or collection of plants used by Native Americans to be curated, planted, and maintained. While the 2012 master plan also bundled together sidewalks and new plantings, its focus was on increasing the quality of plantings in the already pedestrian-centric core and high-traffic areas rather than lesser-seen edges of campus.
[1] L.W. “Tex” Plunkett, interview by Larry Ball and William Clements, September 27, 1979, MidSouth Center for Oral History, Archives & Special Collections, Dean B. Ellis Library, Arkansas State University, 033-112; Larry Ball and William Clements, Voices from State: An Oral History of Arkansas State University (Arkansas State University, 1984), 46.
[2] David Nickel, Survey of Student, Faculty, and Staff Opinions of Arkansas State University, May 1978, General Collection, Dean B. Ellis Library, Arkansas State University, 50 & 84.
[3] Stuck Associates, "Campus Design Study: Site Analysis and Goal-Setting Workshop Report, ASU," May 1997, Archives & Special Collections, Dean B. Ellis Library, Arkansas State University, 10 & 8.
[4] Ibid., 8.
