Most of the University of Tulsa campus is connected by a system of brick pavers. However, the southeast part of campus along E. 7th Street does not have any pavers and I think that area could really use it.
This section of TU is heavily traversed by residents of LaFortune House, 7th Street House, Fraternity Row and people walking to Oliphant Hall, Zink Hall, the Mabee Gym, the Physical Plant and the Shuttle Lot.
The addition of pavers, or brick sidewalks, would increase the aesthetics and safety of that area as well as make it appear more united with the rest of campus.
In comparison, the area of TU along sorority row got a facelift through the addition of brick pavers and a post lighting system last summer. Before, that area seemed pretty dark and cut off from the rest of campus.
Now, it looks a lot nicer due to the fact that the brick pavers have been installed. The only problem with those is that people have said that they are too close to the sorority houses.
That is why I think that the new pavers should be added on the south side of E. 7th St. so that they are directly in front of Lafortune House, the Mabee Gym and the Physical Plant and on the other side of the street from Oliphant, Zink and the fraternities.
Let’s say that someone is wanting to walk to Bayless Plaza from LaFortune House. Currently, they would have to cross S. Gary Avenue and S. Florence Avenue along either narrow sidewalks or grass. It would make these two intersections safer if these pavers could be inlaid into the street at these two intersections to make it more obvious that there is a crosswalk there.
Another safety concern is that this area is dark at night because it is not well lit. Adding the same post lighting that is normally used along the pavers would go a long way to brighten this area up.
As a result, Fraternity Row, Lafortune House and 7th Street House will be better linked with the rest of campus because of these pavers and have an added bonus of being brighter and safer.
To completely lay out my plan of where these pavers would be, I’ve mapped out the route between S. Gary Place and S. Tucker Drive.
The pavers would have their eastern terminus at the southwest corner of E. 7th Street and S. Gary Place and extend along the south curb of E. 7th Street, reaching the southeast corner of E. 7th Street and S. Gary Avenue. At that point, there would be a brick crosswalk at this intersection that extends westbound towards E. Florence Ave.
These pavers would pass Kappa Alpha, Kappa Sigma, Pi Kappa Alpha and Zink Hall at a distance and pass directly in front of the Mabee Gym. At the intersection of E. 7th Street and Florence Avenue, there would be another brick crosswalk and it would continue extending westbound towards S. Tucker Drive/Bayless Plaza. These pavers would pass directly in front of the Physical Plant and would pass Oliphant Hall at a distance.
At the northwest corner of the Physical Plant, the new pavers would intersect with existing pavers at the East curb of Tucker Drive, just before Bayless Plaza. The pavers would continue North at the point until they meet with the current pavers that end at a corner southeast of Sharp Chapel.
