Both the Housing Master Plan (HMP) and Transportation Master Plan (TMP) initiatives are deep into their outreach and data-gathering phases, while an Energy Master Plan initiative is slated to launch this summer as the university builds toward creation of the next Campus Master Plan.
Surveys for the HMP and TMP have been sent out to all students, faculty and staff over the past two weeks. The TMP survey and the faculty-staff version of the HMP survey remain open for participation via personalized links sent out by email. While the student version of the HMP survey closed on April 28, current students, faculty and staff have until Thursday, May 2, to complete the TMP survey, and the faculty-staff version of the HMP remains open through Thursday, May 9.
Both initiatives have also been busy this spring tabling at different locations and events across campus to engage the campus community in these important planning initiatives, as well as fielding insights and questions via the respective project websites. The HMP and TMP, in parallel with the ongoing Strategic Facilities Visioning initiative and the upcoming Energy Master Plan, will be used to inform the next Campus Master Plan. Specifically, the HMP and TMP will culminate in overarching guiding principles for how the university approaches housing and transportation, as well as recommended options to be integrated into the Campus Master Plan.
“Housing and transportation are two issues that affect everyone on campus, and that will have a major influence on creation of the next Campus Master Plan,” said David Kang, vice chancellor for infrastructure and sustainability. “We’ve been excited so far with the early participation levels seen with the TMP and HMP surveys, and hope the campus community continues to participate and provide their insights in the coming days.”
An overview of the survey findings will be communicated to the campus once data compilation and analysis are complete.
In addition to the engagement efforts, the Transportation Master Plan team has also been engaging with campus stakeholders in deep-dive examinations of how future transportation initiatives can help achieve the university’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and how parking needs and approaches will play into transportation demand management efforts on campus.
Deep dives in coming months will look at the topics of transit, walking and biking, transportation demand management, safety, and transportation organization. Additional campus outreach is also planned for the fall in preparation for publishing a draft Transportation Master Plan.
On the Housing Master Plan front, the project team’s efforts to date, including the focus of much of the survey, have centered on housing community form factors and unit preference types. Preferences that surface during the survey and through other engagement efforts will be used to develop housing demand scenarios for preferred unit types and community amenities for differing demographic segments of the campus. This will lead to scenarios for new and refurbished housing communities.
The Energy Master Plan, meanwhile, once it launches this summer is expected to take nine to 12 months to complete.
The current Campus Master Plan was approved by the CU Board of Regents in 2011. Per Colorado statutes, the next is due in 2021, with the update effort slated to kick off in late 2019 or early 2020.