Public to UI: Keep the green spaces

Members of the University of Idaho community hope the future plan for the Moscow campus includes preserving the arboretums, and adding spaces for student recreational activities.

These were among the suggestions offered by people who attended a Monday town hall event regarding the UI’s long range campus development plan. The university has hired Michigan-based architecture firm Smithgroup to create a 25-year vision for the Moscow campus. Smithgroup spent Monday gathering feedback from staff, students and faculty on campus.

Smithgroup landscape architect Neal Kessler said he is hoping the development plan will be finished in spring 2025. It will then be used as a basis for future campus projects the UI will try to accomplish as funding becomes available, he said.

“It’s primarily for making sure that every single project that we do on campus — from a walkway, to an open space landscape project, to a renovation, to a brand new building — is trying to use our limited financial resources as best they can,” Kessler said.

During Monday’s town hall, held at the Bruce M. Pitman Center, attendees were asked to list what features on the Moscow campus they want to preserve, and which ones they would like to see transformed.

The general consensus was to preserve particular green spaces. The arboretum and Administration Building lawn, including Hello Walk, were among the most common green spaces mentioned. The Theophilus Tower Lawn and Paradise Path were also highlighted.

With regard to changes they would like to see, the list was longer and more varied. Many of the suggestions centered on improving student recreation opportunities. This included upgrading Memorial Gym, improving Guy Wicks Field, and creating an outdoor space specifically for student sport clubs. One person also suggested expanding Hartung Theater, which is home to performing arts events.

People also want the university to upgrade UI’s South Hill Apartments, make better use of Poultry Hill and expand Wallace Residence Center dining facility as well as the Vandal Food Pantry.

UI’s last campus plan, called Vision 2020, was created in the 1990s. This next plan is meant to guide the university through 2050.

People who want to provide feedback can visit pop-up booths today located at the Idaho Student Union Building, Theophilus Tower Lawn and Wallace. People can learn more information at uidaho.edu/vision2050.

Kessler said Smithgroup is trying to create a data-informed plan “so that we’re not just asking for things that we want, but things that we absolutely need to make this campus great.”

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.