WOU Master Plan

Founded in 1856, Western Oregon University is Oregon’s oldest public university. Located in Monmouth, WOU offers a variety of academic and athletic programs; it has experienced a steady increase in both undergraduate and graduate student populations over the past five years. SERA’s Gregg Sanders, Eric Ridenour, and Anneliese Sitterly teamed up to provide the University with a Master Plan and framework for future growth.

The Western Oregon University Master Plan is intended to be a general guide for good campus form and a framework for growth – rather than a specific, prescriptive development plan – in order to give the University flexibility to adapt to changing conditions, and the Oregon University System (OUS) and the City of Monmouth a plan to accommodate the anticipated growth.

A primary objective of the Master Plan is to direct the University’s internal planning for physical facilities, including buildings, grounds and infrastructure. Six primary goals were established during the planning process:

• Provide for a campus population of 7,800 FTE by 2020 by envisioning a high quality living and learning environment.
• Increase residential and academic density on campus while preserving the existing intimacy and character of WOU.
• Improve the quality of life on campus in order to provide social opportunities for residential students on evenings and weekends.
• Maintain vehicular use of Monmouth Avenue for local and campus-related traffic while investigating alternatives for general traffic.
• Create a framework for development of the west side of campus to better accommodate current and projected athletic needs, while maintaining capacity for other development needs, such as family housing.
• Design for walkability throughout campus by improving pedestrian connectivity and locating vehicular parking along the campus perimeter.

To accommodate the level of anticipated growth, the University plans to add to its overall housing inventory, including student dorms and apartment housing for single students and families. The University also plans to increase density in the existing academic core, identify new areas for future academic building development, and eventually implement more efficient sports field layouts and athletic development on the west side of campus.

Several different development framework options were created and tested, eventually coalescing into one preferred strategy that is reflected in the Master Plan.

The campus open spaces are a defining characteristic of the University; the Grove, the Cottage Quadrangle, and the front lawns of buildings facing Monmouth Avenue are all important to one’s experience of the campus. They contribute to campus identity and can also attract students to the campus by making a favorable first impression on potential students and their families. An Open Space Framework was developed to illustrate the green space connections and to show a well-developed pedestrian path system.

Monmouth Avenue is the central feature of the WOU campus and is also significant in the City of Monmouth’s street pattern. Monmouth Avenue is intended to carry significant vehicle volumes, and is the path for a large number of pedestrians on a daily basis. This dual nature is one of the central issues addressed through circulation planning in this Master Plan.

The University supports having Monmouth Avenue open as a full public street and recognizes that it provides access to the campus for first-time and regular visitors. A street that is permanently or occasionally closed to vehicles has been considered, but the value of access and visibility for the campus is considered a priority. Because a University campus tends to have a high volume of pedestrians, especially during class-change times, the University also supports on-going use of appropriate traffic calming measures and a provision of alternate routes as strategies to ensure that Monmouth Avenue is a safe and welcoming place for pedestrians. A perimeter route along the eastern edge of campus will allow drivers a clear and desirable alternate route to avoid Monmouth Avenue during the busiest times.

The Master Plan also identifies locations for welcome stations at the northern and southern entrances to campus. These are intended to be locations where visitors can get information on the campus, as well as gateways that announce that one is entering a special area.

Large parking areas in the campus core are relocated to perimeter areas of the campus. Smaller lots — serving campus users who need preferred parking — would still be provided in close proximity to buildings, but the general goal is to create a campus that supports non-auto travel modes (walking, bicycling, etc.) for internal trips, and trips to nearby off-campus areas. A strong network of desirable pedestrian and multi-use paths is key to achieving this goal.

A set of Design Guidelines was developed to allow WOU flexibility within the Master Plan to achieve its goals. Guidelines specific to WOU address the design of street improvements, pedestrian walkways, bike paths, parking lots, landscape design, lighting, signage, and building design. Guidelines for Sustainability and Universal Design were also developed for the campus. WOU is the first university in the OUS system to include Universal Design Guidelines in their Master Plan.

{By Anneliese Sitterly}