A representative from the architecture firm designing the project shows Sherwood Oaks resident Joe Farley (right) details on the campus master plan.[/caption]

After months of discussion with the community, St. Edward's University on Thursday presented initial proposals for what it hopes the South Austin campus will look like in a decade or two.

The open house was the public's first look at how the private university plans to physically manage an additional 1,000 students in the next 10-20 years.

Preliminary designs include a new 550-space parking garage in the northwest corner of campus, sidewalks along the edges of university property, replacement residence halls, new academic buildings and additional athletic fields.

The plan also calls for sidewalks, enhanced streetscapes and crosswalks on St. Edwards Drive, the roadway that borders the university and the Sherwood Oaks neighborhood.

University Architect Kit Johnson said the campus master plan aims to better define the campus boundaries through the use of streetscape enhancements and sidewalks.

Neighbors who live in the Sherwood Oaks neighborhood, which was established in the 1960s, seemed supportive of a sidewalk along St. Edwards Drive. Residents also said they favored having recreational fields across the street from their neighborhood as opposed to a building or parking lot.

In the past, the neighborhood has been at odds with the university when it comes to parking and speeding on St. Edwards Drive, something the university says it can't control.


Neighbors previously said they feel unsafe walking throughout Sherwood Oaks, especially along St. Edwards Drive where cars line both sides of the street on a daily basis.

"I'm glad to see [St. Edward's University is] putting a lot more effort on all the sidewalks," said former resident Garret Nick, who owns a house in Sherwood Oaks. He said it would "go a long way" if St. Edward's University showed an interest in building sidewalks.

Johnson said the university's hope is to build the sidewalks by partnering with the neighbors and the city of Austin for its Neighborhood Partnering Program, which provides opportunities for neighborhoods and the city to make improvements in the city's rights-of-way by sharing the costs.

Senior Austin Police Officer Sean Rougeau said he issues tickets daily around the intersection of St. Edwards and East Side drives when drivers park too close to a stop sign or fire hydrant.

Johnson, the school's architect, said there is ample parking on campus, but it's not where it needs to be—close to academic buildings.

The location of parking, coupled with the $252-per-year parking permit price tag, is causing students to park along St. Edwards Drive and throughout the neighborhood, according to residents.

Sherwood Oaks resident Elloa Matthews, who serves as an officer on the South River City Citizens neighborhood association, said as long as the university charges for parking, students are going to park elsewhere—mainly, her neighborhood.

And mentions of city-issued residential parking permits for St. Edwards Drive or turning the road into a no-parking area are countered with the argument that cars would simply park further into the neighborhood instead.

Cars line St. Edwards Drive, which separates the university's new operations building from a residential neighborhood.[/caption]

Much of the discussion Thursday night revolved around the possible limited accessibility to University Drive from St. Edwards Drive. An idea to turn that entrance into a card-access only entrance received mixed reviews from residents. Some nearby residents said cutting off access would deter drivers from going on to St. Edwards Drive and into the neighborhood, and others said they rarely saw the road being used.

Tyler Patrick, a principal planner with the architecture firm designing the campus master plan, said many of the larger projects such as the performing arts center and athletic complex depend on funding and donor interests, but some projects could be considered "bite-sized" and completed piecemeal.

"There's a lot of big ideas here," he said.

The goal, Patrick said, is to have 50 percent of students living on campus. About 35 percent of the university's roughly 3,600 undergraduate students currently live on campus, and freshmen are required to live on campus.

The campus master plan, which was originally slated to be approved by the university board in May, will now be approved sometime in the fall, according to Director of Communications Mischelle Diaz. She said that allows more time for feedback and to schedule any future community sessions if needed.

No other community workshops or sessions on the campus master plan have been scheduled at this time.