Welcoming the New Kent State Signature Gateway

Kent State University and the city of Kent are working together on what they refer to as Kent’s “master plan.”

The two sides have made quite the extensive list of goals to accomplish in the coming years. However, one part of this master plan is to create a new “signature” gateway, which is right along East Main Street in Kent. The reasoning for the change is quite extensive.

For one, the University is looking to update certain things within the university, such as a new Business Administration building, a new and improved parking deck, and safer crossways for students. 

The signature gateway is all a part of those particular plans for the campus and city to change. 

Michael Bruder, Executive Director of Facilities Planning for Kent State, says that although Kent State is a beautiful campus, it could be more welcoming for incoming students in the future.

“When you think about some of your favourite parts of campus, a lot of people are drawn to the historic front campus,” Bruder said. “We wanted to take that look and feel of the campus and extend it further down main street.”

The welcoming aspect of Kent State are areas like the open field near Taylor Hall. An area that is very relaxed, having many places for students, and even residents, to enjoy when the weather is nice. 

Bruder also made the point that the university’s parking is not so welcoming either, comparing the current parking arrangements to something like Walmart parking

“We recognize that we do need to provide convenient and proximate parking for faculty staff and students,” Bruder said. “But the large, open asphalt are not the most welcoming.”

But that isn’t the only reason behind the changes the university wants to make. 

As part of the plan, the city of Kent has offered $30 million to help with renovations. More specifically, the crosswalks along East Main St.

Jim Bowling, the city engineer for the city of Kent, says that the main focus for them is to make East Main St. a safer place to drive and walk. 

“The goal of the work in the roadway, which is from approximately from Willow Street to Horning, is to improve the safety of the road for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists,” Bowling said.

Bowling also said the stretch along East Main St. from Willow to Luther and Terrace Dr. raises the most concern for the city of Kent, as well as the university.

“That stretch of road is the worst crash corridor in Summit and Portage counties, which has been the worst crash corridor for the last three years and running,” Bowling said. “That was published by AMATS.”

AMATS is the local transportation planning organization for Portage and Summit county.

The university does not have access to changing the roadways, which is owned by the city of Kent, which is the reason the city has agreed to put up their portion of money into the large project. 

The relationship between Kent State University and the city of Kent is an important one, as Kent State is a huge part of the city’s success. 

“In partnership with the city, we have joint success and we have joint problems,” Bruder said. “Our goal is for each of us to bring our resources to the table so that our final solution is for the greater than the sum of all our individual efforts.”

The University and the city of Kent have had previous successes together, with the recent end to the summit east project just a year ago. 

For more information regarding the entire master plan, click here.