The Changing Façade of USP - University of the Sciences in ...

usp bulletin: changing façade at usp page continued from page 5It’s taken a number of years for thestreetscape project to be realized. Butwith help from the local and state governments,plus input from the community, theplanned improvements along WoodlandAve. are about to come to fruition in thespring of 2007.“We’re going to enhance the safety byshortening the pedestrian travel distancefrom one side of the street to the otherby bumping out the curb lines and thesidewalks,” Kerry Jones explained. “Bynarrowing the street, we not only reducethe travel distance, but we also create apsychological feeling for cars that this isno longer an open highway.”The project will encompass WoodlandAve. on both sides of the street, starting atintersection of 42nd Street all the way upto 45th Street and just beyond.Aesthetically, the streetscapes projectwill link all of the facilities into one cohesivewhole by again standardizing thelook. Concrete will be tinted dark greyor mixed with old brick pavers “Whenyou are on our campus, you are going toknow that you are on our campus,” KerryJones reiterated.Streetscapes is supported through afederally funded transportation enhancementsact acquired through PennDOT.“From a student perspective, getting that singleidentity that you are on the USP campus is to havethat feeling of unity and feeling of safe harbor.”Pat Lepore, Vice President of OperationsAdditional monies were obtained through ahometown street grant by the PhiladelphiaStreets Department, plus some monies fromthe University.While changes in the street will be mostnotable, the addition of benches, seatingThe first floor of the J.W. EnglandLibrary was one of the largerrenovation projects to improveinterior spaces.walls, and trolley shelters will addto the look and feel of the project.“We’re going to plant all new trees,”Kerry Jones said of the Phase I plan.“The ones in place now are more prone todisease. Many are dying and people justdon’t realize it. The new trees will be [bettersuited] to a city environment.”Keeping PaceSir Isaac Newton’s third law of physicsstates that for every action, there is an equaland opposite reaction. The same could besaid for construction and renovations.If you build the McNeil STC, what’sgoing to happen to the spaces left behindwhen people take to their new location?“The short term is pretty easy,” Leporesaid. “We need to retrofit all of the spacevacated because of the McNeil STC. Thelion’s share of that is located on the thirdfloor of Griffith Hall, which now has a lotof empty space. It’s a temporary retrofittingbecause the long-term plan that we arepreparing probably will include somethingwith the Robert McNeil Research Center.We are still debating the pros and cons.We may also construct a new buildingon the Alumni Hall location. Knock thatdown and put up a student center, amongother things.”Lepore said the short-term plan is whatthe University can do in the next two tothree months. The long-term plan islooking at a minimumof two yearsbefore any groundcould be broken.“The wholephilosophy is atheme that wewant this to bea safer, kinder,friendlier environment,” said Lepore. “Wewant it to feel like a USP community. Weare working toward that end.”If the last four years are any indication,anyone returning in 2011 will need a mapto get around campus.Let There Be (More) LightUSP Adds More Lights toNeighborhood StreetsAs part of a collective effort involving USP,University of Pennsylvania, the ScienceCenter, Drexel University, and UniversityCity District, The University City LightingConsortium unveiled new, more powerfulstreetlights on Oct. 3, 2006.“I think it adds up to a lot of community responsibility,”said President Philip P. GerbinoP’69, PharmD’70 at the ceremony to unveil thelights. “With our institution and our staff, wehave grown up in our neighborhood and ourcommunity. We all work together to contributeto make our neighborhoods safer.”The partnership’s goal was to improve thestreet and pedestrian lighting in the section ofUniversity City bounded by Schuylkill Avenueto the east, 45th Street to the west, WoodlandAvenue to the south, and JFK Boulevard to thenorth. This phase of the project includes theinstallation of more than 300 new light poles,each equipped with a 27,500-lumen output,which is over 25 percent brighter than theprevious lamps, as well as produce betterlight distribution, projecting the light to whereit is needed. Total cost of the project wasmore than $1.6 million, in addition to in-kindservices provided by PECO and the PhiladelphiaStreets Department.The event marked the conclusion of the firstphase of what the consortium members hopewill be a multiyear project to provide residentswith a safer and brighter walking and livingenvironment.