Riverside Campus Plan - Office of Facilities Coordination - Texas ...

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY RIVERSIDE CAMPUS PLAN22FIGURE 1Riverside Campus entrancefrom Highway 47campus the university is adding a Wi-Max system(wireless transmission) that will enhance internetcapability over the entire campus, utilizingantenna near the water tower, and allowing communicationcapacity over the entire campus.SITE SECURITYEntry to the campus is down a two-lane roadthat connects to Highway 47. The road passesthrough a perimeter fence that extends round theentire 2,000 acre campus. However, the fence isnot patrolled and even though sections are electrified,access to the campus is not effectivelycontrolled.1The gate from Highway 47 is open from 7:00 amuntil 6:00 pm on weekdays. Access at other timesis by swipe card. The entrance is monitored by avideo camera, however, the video quality is poorand license plates are not readable. The videooutput shows that incidents of ‘tailgating,’ that is,allowing a second vehicle access to the campuswithout proper security clearance, is common.There is no designated secondary egress fromthe campus, though back roads to Goodson BendRoad on the south and Pitts Road on the westcould be accessed using four-wheel drive vehicles.Some consideration has been given toaccess to research pastures on the north of thecampus by the creation of a new gate off Highway21, although this would further decrease thecurrent security condition.Wayfinding at Riverside Campus is non-existent,leaving visitors to rely on directions provided tothem by their hosts. Individual buildings, particularlythose occupied by System agencies,are well marked on the structures themselves,but the range of activities (including industrysensitivetesting, crash-testing on the runways,unexploded ordnance training, live-fire practice,armed intervention and access training, policeand emergency driving training, and the use ofindustrial chemicals) creates a potentially hazardoussituation at many points on the campus.The Office of Facilities Coordination maintainsan individual at Riverside charged to schedulehazardous activities (like crash-testing) but someof the actual sites for such activities do not have