Texas A&M University College Station Developments

[TexasVines]

Ground has also broken on the Emerging Technologies and Economic Development Interdisciplinary Building:

Engineering and Applied Technologies Align

By REBECCA WATTS, AbouTown Press

...The building will house the Dwight Look College of Engineering, the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineers, and the research of interdisciplinary partnerships. International design firm Perkins + Will designed the three-story building to include ample display space, nine classrooms and two lecture halls equipped with state-of-the-art technology, two computer labs, dry and wet bench labs that will support bioscience experiments, underwater research labs, visualization rooms, workshop facilities, and offices.

The construction of the Emerging Technologies building will better accommodate the 100 additional faculty positions added to the Dwight Look College of Engineering through the faculty reinvestment plan. Initiated by former Texas A&M president and current U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in 2006, the plan adds 447 faculty positions over five years to the university...

boy Gates was a real WIN for TAMU it is too bad he got away so soon.....I have met Murano in person and she is nice and has good experience but she will have big shoes to fill and I will withhold judgment on her until it is all done.....one thing I already do not like is she specifically told a LARGE NUMBER of people that the A in A&M would mean Ag again......then she came up with the totally stupid "agrilife" naming....and what was worse is it was only a short time after they had changed Ag Extension to Cooperative Extension to reflect all the damn food and welfare projects that are ruining extension agencies across the USA.....hell some trucks did not even have the Cooperative Extension stickers on them yet and they changed the stupid name again.....she had a lot of good will to get back after that poorly handled fiasco

I hope TAMU and UT have not bid out all these buildings already and can take advantage of the reduced materials prices and building trades demand....it would be great to see them budget in the high price times and then build in lower priced times and have cash left over

Edited January 21, 2009 by TexasVines

[BryanS]

Bland and boring.

[Scotch]

Bland and boring? You must not have seen the "Soviet" style buildings that A&M threw up in the late 70's/early 80's to deal with the population explosion on campus.

The Mitchell Physics Building covers up the view from University Dr. of the Blocker building, a truly awe-inspiring piece of design:

[BryanS]

Bland and boring? You must not have seen the "Soviet" style buildings that A&M threw up in the late 70's/early 80's to deal with the population explosion on campus.

The Mitchell Physics Building covers up the view from University Dr. of the Blocker building, a truly awe-inspiring piece of design:

Oh, I've seen them. What is being built, is only a modest upgrade from above, IMO.

[Scotch]

MSC Renovation Architectural Renderings

"New contruction will take its inspiration from the original MSC's building lines and geometry."

Texas A&M Unveils "New Look" MSC

"It won't be long until one of Texas A&M's most recognizable facilities undergoes a dramatic makeover.

A transformation is about to begin on the Memorial Student Center. Wednesday, students and faculty got to see what the finished product will look like."

[mmeads]

All in all they look pretty good, nothing too crazy. But it will eatup some of the outdoor Rudder Fountain space.

[aggie0083]

Very nice! Although it is sad to see one of my most visited buildings change so much, this will be a great upgrade for the University.

[citykid09]

The Campus in 2020: Improve Campus Accessibility

Access to campus by pedestrian, bicycle and automobile is a challenge currently. Poorly distributed parking areas make parking on campus a daily challenge. A bus system loops through the communityImprove Accessibility and back to campus, but is not a preferred mode of travel for students despite the inconvenience of finding a parking space. Student proposals included increasing the number of parking garages and locating them closer to the East and West Campus cores and along the light rail loop.

Read the rest here:

http://www.tamu.edu/vision2020/groundwork/170.php

WoW! Light Rail in BCS!

[citykid09]

[RedScare]

Toy train. How lame. Too bad they can't get a real subway.

[citykid09]

Toy train. How lame. Too bad they can't get a real subway.

Ok

Its Bryan/College Station, a "small" metropolitan area. Its not the 4th largest city in America/top ten metro. If we were, I would expect a heavy rail or subway line.

[RedScare]

Typical Bryan/College Station.

[Highway6]

sigh.. i wish we could make Wellborn more urban.

[RedScare]

sigh.. i wish we could make Wellborn more urban.

Yeah, like Alpharetta.

[ProHouston]

Typical Bryan/College Station.

What are you expecting? As citykid mentioned, BCS is maybe a 1/4 million during the fall/spring. At least they are working on a vision plan for 10-15 years out. Not sure where the condescension is coming from.

[zaphod]

I guess because one would expect to see something like a more serious public bus system beyond the TAMU shuttles before you would propose something like that. If there really is a need for capacity you could use those bendy buses or simply run more regular ones.

Oh well, I had a crazy dream once where Bryan had a light rail, and a downtown with smallish high rises like they have in Lubbock.

Edited May 7, 2009 by zaphod

[crunchtastic]

What are you expecting? As citykid mentioned, BCS is maybe a 1/4 million during the fall/spring. At least they are working on a vision plan for 10-15 years out. Not sure where the condescension is coming from.

I wouldn't call it condescension, but reading the article, it appears this whole 'vision' thing is because TAMU students are too good to ride a bus. It is not their 'preferred mode of travel'. Well of course, then, it makes sense to build....... expensive light rail for a seasonal population. Add more buses on more routes. Campus accessibility issue solved. Do something nifty and use the expanded routes to test prototype bio fuel buses. Put some of those ag minds to work!

Yes, light rail it is an appropriate solution in some cases. But I can't help it, every time I read another rail boosterism post, I think of that old Simpsons 'monorial' epsiode. The funny thing is, I'm ragging on Bryan /College Station, but someone's probably got a light rail vision for the greater Victoria/Goliad/Edna area.

[zaphod]

eh, you know what's funny though is in Madison, WI and Boulder CO they have both made serious proposals for trains at points in the past but it never made sense. Trying to think of other precedents as well.

Had College Station built denser like those cities with a student neighborhood like west campus in Austin, and if perhaps Bryan had a bigger more business-like downtown, and if everything from the hospitals to the mall had clustered more in a central area, then who knows. I agree this area punches below it's weight in terms of the urban environment, we have no tall buildings, but then again houses here don't cost $482,000 like they do in other college towns.

To be realistic though it would even in that case make more sense to go with some kind of rail-like BRT that they have in Eugene and are building in Fort Collins, where sleek electric/hybrid buses run on a guideway of sorts inside the landscaped median and stop at covered stations.

Of course then also my dad always joked that in the 1970's they could've built a airport-style people mover.Maybe we could go raid Las Colinas and steal their crazy little monorail thing in the middle of the night and bring it here. All we need is a giant helicopter.

Edited May 7, 2009 by zaphod

[citykid09]

You guys are saying we don't have the density, but in a way we do and with light rail it will densify even more. At least we are thinking ahead unlike Houston did and now they are building their last minute half rate system for a metro population of nearly 6 million.

[Highway6]

Aggieland doesn't need lightrail or any additional means of mass transit beyond the bus system they already have.

Both the on-campus and off-campus bus lines worked very well. Parking is not any bigger an issue that at other universities, the amount of student parking lots, garages, and pay parking was always adequate.

The biggest reason why this would be a flop in BCS is that there is no concentration of off-campus housing. Anywhere the university isn't, there is residential student and employee housing potential. Having one commuter line along Wellborn wouldn't scratch the surface of reaching off-campus students, profs, or employees. And why drive to one of the nodes, park, to ride the rail in when you could take the existing extensive bus system.

The only time parking demand is greater than what's available on campus is the half dozen home football games each fall, and again, there is already a well-used and free bus network to bring in fans from different staging points around the city.

Another reason why it's not needed. This is a university. While there is a plan for controlled growth (facilities and enrollment), the potential to plan for servicing that growth ( parking ) can be implemented too. While the city may keep growing, seems the demand for access to the university is relatively known and finite. ( Enrollment will ever only get so high ).

[crunchtastic]

You guys are saying we don't have the density, but in a way we do and with light rail it will densify even more. At least we are thinking ahead unlike Houston did and now they are building their last minute half rate system for a metro population of nearly 6 million.

Nope. No density. And even if it did, buses would still be best way to meet transit needs, given the seasonal nature of the population.

Overbuilding an unnecesary system is not 'thinking ahead.' It's 'wasting money.' Don't let this rail fetish cloud your thinking, citykid.

[RedScare]

What are you expecting? As citykid mentioned, BCS is maybe a 1/4 million during the fall/spring. At least they are working on a vision plan for 10-15 years out. Not sure where the condescension is coming from.

Actually, I was merely typing in the same lame responses that certain posters on here type in threads about Houston. No thought put into it at all. Didn't even read the article...just like those posters do. Funny that they did not catch my sarcasm, but I suppose now they know how annoying it is to read thoughtless and stupid posts about their hometown. Then again, they probably won't.

[IronTiger]

I can imagine a heritage streetcar trolley that would go from downtown Bryan to TAMU...but a "toy train" light rail?

For College Station/Bryan, I would prescribe a more extensive bus system and a commuter rail running to Houston (on the existing rail)...light rail not included.

But that's my opinion.

[RedScare]

I can imagine a heritage streetcar trolley that would go from downtown Bryan to TAMU...but a "toy train" light rail?

For College Station/Bryan, I would prescribe a more extensive bus system and a commuter rail running to Houston (on the existing rail)...light rail not included.

But that's my opinion.

That is actually a much more viable solution for a city (actually two) with a population density of 1,600 people per square mile than an expensive light rail system.

[UrbaNerd]

Oh, y'all have the density alright. Yeah. Density.

[CDeb]

it appears this whole 'vision' thing is because TAMU students are too good to ride a bus. It is not their 'preferred mode of travel'.

Maybe it isn't their preferred mode (I don't know, I haven't talked to that many of them), but with only 10,000 spaces on campus for over 50,000 students, faculty and staff, they don't have much of a choice unless they live close enough to walk or bike.

[IronTiger]

I tried Googling for an official city bus system in College Station but couldn't find one (the only one was TAMU). Does our city even HAVE one?

[citykid09]

We have Brazos Transit, but who would ride that?

http://www.btd.org/BryanCollegeStation.htm

[Scotch]

Some things to keep in mind, most of that 20/20 Vision document is a number of years old. Plans in the above link show a future West Campus parking garage, but it has been built and open at least 6 years.

Also, mass transit is a great option when there is demand, and demand easily occurs when the mass transit is the fastest/easiest most of transporation. Thing is, even in the heaviest congestion(aside from football game traffic), it only takes a maximum of 30 minutes to navigate anywhere in town.

I have seen plans that call for an outer and inner loop bus route at A&M, using underpasses under Welborn Rd. The underpass option is less ambitious than light rail, yet would still be very costly. They probably should have put Joe Routt Blvd. in a tunnel when they built the pedestrian underpass.

In a few years George Bush will go under Welborn, and I really wonder if the plans for either underpass in the interior of the campus will actually occur.

Of course, so many of these problems on campus and along the tracks could have been avoided if College Station voters had simply voted for LoTrack in the early 90's. All of this expensive contruction today is a direct result of that shortsighted foolishness.

[IronTiger]

We have Brazos Transit, but who would ride that?

http://www.btd.org/BryanCollegeStation.htm

And so if no one's willing to ride buses, they WILL ride a far less extensive light rail? Seriously, what Crunch said is right, because "t appears this whole 'vision' thing is because TAMU students are too good to ride a bus. It is not their 'preferred mode of travel'." You're acting like one of said snotty college students. If you don't my asking, are you one?

The only reason I don't ride the city bus is because it doesn't go anywhere near where I live and its kind of pricey (but so will light rail)

I heard LoTrack was building a ditch for the railroad to go through. Any more information on that?