Connecting Roberts Stadium With UE & The 1977 Aces



In previous posts, I talked about how we can use Roberts Stadium as...

1. An Indoor Greenway Trail Hub
2. A connector from Wesselman Woods to Mental Health Park
3. A place to exhibit statues of former greats of Roberts Stadium

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2012/02/lets-dive-into-park-green-space-lake.html

Indeed, renovating Roberts Stadium into a mid-sized arena while converting the back lot into a green space makes the most sense of the 6 proposals currently left on the table for the following reasons...

1. Both Roberts Stadium and the green space are 1/2 the price of just one green space.
2. Roberts and a green space is the only way to accomplish "something for everyone."
3. Roberts Stadium and a green space are the only way to achieve a financial balance that will allow the project to pay for itself.

With all of that being said, there is one more connection to Roberts Stadium that we need to make to take full advantage of the facility as both a hub for the east side of Evansville as well as a destination point for those looking to stay active and healthy. That connection is to the University of Evansville where the memorial to the 1977 Evansville Aces men's basketball team sits directly in the middle of campus...

(click on photos to enlarge)

Before considering connecting UE with Roberts Stadium, there are already several pre-existing benefits to the plan...

1. There already is a route taken by those who do "Relay For Life" and other benefit walks/runs. As a result, there are already existing signs on the route that simply need a dedicated path added.

2. There already is a pedestrian bridge that can connect UE with Roberts Stadium over the Lloyd Expressway. That bridge goes over the Lloyd Expressway next to Harper Middle School.

3. All Right-Of-Way is already acquired for the route. There would be no need to purchase any additional land.

The route I am referring to is aligned in the following way...

(click to enlarge)

Given that there is already signage along the route, what would need to change?

1. Road diets would need to be added along some of the streets. What is a road diet? Find out more here...

http://evansvillemovingforward.blogspot.com/2011/07/evansville-needs-more-road-diets.html

2. The vast majority of the route, which includes the entire route minus intersections, would be separated from automobile traffic. In other words, painting a bicycle logo on an existing street isn't going to cut it. We need a route that is painted in Aces colors (Purple & Orange) and is separated from the streets that would run parallel to it.

3. Additional signage, plaques, and decorations would be added to the route.

4. Many parts of the area, most notably the bridge over the Lloyd would be given a full clean-up.

5. The route would pay tribute to the 1977 Aces men's basketball team, who lost their lives in a tragic plane crash, by using the on campus memorial and Roberts Stadium as the endpoints of the route.

A few days ago, I took a stroll down the route to give everyone a street level view of how the route would look.

If implemented the route would start at the northwest corner of the Roberts Stadium lot...

It would then head down Franklin Street....

As you can see, there's already signs marked on the street...

When you get to the corner of Franklin and N. Alvord, you can see that putting a bike/walking path in the middle of N. Alvord would be much easier...

In fact, there's already signs telling cyclists how far they are from Lincoln Avenue...

After heading south on N. Alvord, we come to the pedestrian bridge over the Lloyd Expressway. Once this bridge is cleaned up and repainted in Ace's colors, it will have plenty of room for signage and decorations commemorating the 1977 Aces team..

After getting on the other side of the bridge, we are now on S. Alvord. Thankfully, this road still has plenty of room in the middle for a bike/walking trail and is already marked with distance signs...

On the day I walked the path, it was busy with kids playing on the sidewalks and residents riding their bikes...

After traveling down S. Alvord, the next street that the route would take would be Walnut. This road goes directly into UE's campus...

Once arriving on UE's campus, the route would take a short stroll down Walnut before curving into the heart of campus where the memorial is located...

As you can see, the vast majority of the route is already constructed and heavily used by residents and neighbors. So what would be the advantage to upgrading the path to a designated route?

1. Upgrading the route brings UE closer to their neighbors as community partners.

2. Upgrading the route puts our Greenway system one road (Walnut) from being connected from the downtown Ford Center and Greenway all the way out to Roberts Stadium which would connect to the rest of the east side.

3. Upgrading the route brings more awareness to UE's rich tradition in basketball.

4. Upgrading the route would leave only a few bridges from having a completely separate walkway from city roads.

5. Upgrading the route would encourage biking and walking while discouraging dependence on the automobile.

6. Upgrading the route would give UE students a familiar path to walk together on at night which would cut down on crimes against joggers.

7. Upgrading the route would eventually connect UE with land that they will eventually acquire for future expansion for housing. It also will promote current capital improvement projects the university is taking on.

8. Upgrading the route would make the neighborhoods around UE a better place to live which should increase property values.

9. Upgrading the route promotes Roberts Stadium as an "Indoor Greenway Trail Hub" which would have routes connecting to all sides of the facility.

10. Upgrading the route utilizes and promotes existing infrastructure like the pedestrian bridge over the Lloyd Expressway.

Ironically enough, there is already a plan to connect an arena with a campus, and that is Rupp Arena and the University of Kentucky...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2012/03/lexington-kentucky-understands-how-to.html

I can personally relate to the proposed "cat walk" as I had to park in the middle of it on my way to campus each morning (on campus parking permits were too expensive and neighborhood parking was zoned). If build correctly, the cat walk and this proposed route will serve a large number of students and residents.

This proposed route would also fit in perfectly with a Roberts Stadium master plan...

There are many different names this route could be given such as...

Aces Walk
Aces Alley
'77 Trail
Aces Memorial Walk

The amount of names for this proposed route would certainly range in the tens to hundreds, but one thing we can all agree on, we need to promote a healthier Evansville and we need to remember the 1977 Aces men's basketball team. We can do this by connecting UE with a saved Roberts Stadium!