Hotel Convention Center Back On

[kalebschumann]

A bit off topic but what are the plans for parking around the stadium? I was told there would be improvements as last season was a bit of a haul with young kids.

I'm not sure when the plans are to get the ball rolling on all of this. I imagine it will be after they build the track facility on the South Side of the Athletics Complex. It's my understanding that Fouts is basically only open to serve as a track facility.

[yyz28]

Being someone in the hotel business, I can tell you I'm pulling hard for one Flag over the other.

[UNT 90 Grad]

I believe the last Master Plan that I saw had two dorms, a parking garage, and an opera house for the whole Fouts/Parking lot area.

For those that haven't seen the master plan...

http://www.unt.edu/untmasterplan/documents/Final_Master_Plan.pdf

This is from 2005, but I haven't seen any updates. Reality has panned out to be a little different than the 2005 plan, but I wouldn't say that the differences are materially significant.

[THOR]

and beer...

beer has made me do so many things that i wouldn't have normally...i love it...

[ADLER]

Hopefully this hotel and convention center, and it's need to be able to move large quantities of people efficiently between the conference center and the Super Pit, will force the university to rethink the small pedestrian bridge to Apogee. They're going to need a bridge able to accommodate buses or other shuttle services.

I still think the best option long term would be to cover several hundred yards of of the new I-35 and effectively connect the two campus sections.

[MDH]

Hopefully this hotel and convention center, and it's need to be able to move large quantities of people efficiently between the conference center and the Super Pit, will force the university to rethink the small pedestrian bridge to Apogee. They're going to need a bridge able to accommodate buses or other shuttle services.

I still think the best option long term would be to cover several hundred yards of of the new I-35 and effectively connect the two campus sections.

That would be awesome, and insanely expensive.

[kalebschumann]

For those that haven't seen the master plan...

http://www.unt.edu/untmasterplan/documents/Final_Master_Plan.pdf

This is from 2005, but I haven't seen any updates. Reality has panned out to be a little different than the 2005 plan, but I wouldn't say that the differences are materially significant.

That's the most recent plan I've seen too. I wonder when they will put out an updated version.

[UNTLifer]

Hopefully this hotel and convention center, and it's need to be able to move large quantities of people efficiently between the conference center and the Super Pit, will force the university to rethink the small pedestrian bridge to Apogee. They're going to need a bridge able to accommodate buses or other shuttle services.

I still think the best option long term would be to cover several hundred yards of of the new I-35 and effectively connect the two campus sections.

Isn't that what the bridge at North Texas Blvd is for?

[GrayEagle]

Isn't that what the bridge at North Texas Blvd is for?

Yes, it is but it is far too small to carry the amount of traffic anticipated. While I still like the footbridge the North Texas Blvd bridge needs to be expanded to four lanes with sidewalks.

[UNTFan23]

Yes, it is but it is far too small to carry the amount of traffic anticipated. While I still like the footbridge the North Texas Blvd bridge needs to be expanded to four lanes with sidewalks.

As part of the I35E upgrades, I believe the NT Blvd bridge will be demolished and rebuilt to have a minimum of 4 lanes with a U-turn lane for each direction for a minimum total of 6 lanes. TXDOT may go as wide as 6 lanes with 2 U-turns to have an 8 lanes wide bridge.

That's a lot of traffic to to be concerned with if you are a traffic engineer and you are pushed to add in risk of pedestrians on the same bridge. It be interesting to see how the cross walks are handled that maximizes pedestrian safety.

[ADLER]

As part of the I35E upgrades, I believe the NT Blvd bridge will be demolished and rebuilt to have a minimum of 4 lanes with a U-turn lane for each direction for a minimum total of 6 lanes. TXDOT may go as wide as 6 lanes with 2 U-turns to have an 8 lanes wide bridge.

That's a lot of traffic to to be concerned with if you are a traffic engineer and you are pushed to add in risk of pedestrians on the same bridge. It be interesting to see how the cross walks are handled that maximizes pedestrian safety.

Yes, the State of Texas did exactly that for the Mockingbird bridge and the other two just north of it that cross Central because of the potential foot traffic from an adjacent tiny university.

[UNTFan23]

Yes, the State of Texas did exactly that for the Mockingbird bridge and the other two just north of it that cross Central because of the potential foot traffic from an adjacent tiny university.

The only thing keeping this 8 lane wide bridge with a very nice looking sidewalk from happening is funding and right now it's not there. It might be 10 years before work finally starts on I-35E.

Edited January 18, 2012 by UNTFan23