Spring Break
City works to keep up with expanding student population
Funding to increase city infrastructure aimed toward college community.
By: Katy Ralston
Issue date: 2/24/09 Section: News
The trend of record enrollment numbers at Texas A&M each semester has put a heavier burden on College Station's infrastructure.
"Infrastructure includes any sort of constructed facility that adds value or provides core service to our residence such as streets, water supply, sewage, parks and drainage," said City of College Station Capital Improvements Projects Director Chuck Gilman.
Gilman said the University provides water and trash services to campus residents, but the city oversees the functioning of other areas of importance such as transportation and safety.
Texas A&M enrollment profiles show enrollment has expanded by 10 percent in the past four years. Fall enrollment surpassed 48,000 with a freshman class of more than 8,000.
"Each year it seems the freshman class gets bigger and bigger," said junior civil engineering major Taylor Allen. "Bike racks are overflowing and going to the grocery store takes forever no matter what time you go."
This expansion has lead to increased funding and planning in city hall. Gilman's department is in charge of $110 million in enhancements to the city's infrastructure.
"Many of these improvement projects are geared specifically toward the college community and helping the University," Gilman said.
Northgate has become a large focus of the improvements. The University Drive Pedestrian Safety Improvement Project has been proposed to manage safety issues caused by the traffic of a larger student body.
Gilman said transportation has been a main concern, with the existing roads struggling to accommodate the larger student body.
"It now takes 15 minutes to drive to places that as a freshman I could get to in five [minutes]," Allen said.
The city has addressed problems with transportation in the $110 million plan for improvements, and new or extended roads and sidewalks.
"Transportation so far has been keeping up with campus expansion except for the Wellborn area which is always congested," said freshman biomedical engineering major Matthew Tribble.
"Infrastructure includes any sort of constructed facility that adds value or provides core service to our residence such as streets, water supply, sewage, parks and drainage," said City of College Station Capital Improvements Projects Director Chuck Gilman.
Gilman said the University provides water and trash services to campus residents, but the city oversees the functioning of other areas of importance such as transportation and safety.
Texas A&M enrollment profiles show enrollment has expanded by 10 percent in the past four years. Fall enrollment surpassed 48,000 with a freshman class of more than 8,000.
"Each year it seems the freshman class gets bigger and bigger," said junior civil engineering major Taylor Allen. "Bike racks are overflowing and going to the grocery store takes forever no matter what time you go."
This expansion has lead to increased funding and planning in city hall. Gilman's department is in charge of $110 million in enhancements to the city's infrastructure.
"Many of these improvement projects are geared specifically toward the college community and helping the University," Gilman said.
Northgate has become a large focus of the improvements. The University Drive Pedestrian Safety Improvement Project has been proposed to manage safety issues caused by the traffic of a larger student body.
Gilman said transportation has been a main concern, with the existing roads struggling to accommodate the larger student body.
"It now takes 15 minutes to drive to places that as a freshman I could get to in five [minutes]," Allen said.
The city has addressed problems with transportation in the $110 million plan for improvements, and new or extended roads and sidewalks.
"Transportation so far has been keeping up with campus expansion except for the Wellborn area which is always congested," said freshman biomedical engineering major Matthew Tribble.
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