Design Proposal for Aggieville
Project Description
During my Written Communication for Engineers course, I was tasked, with a group, to create a proposal for improvements to Aggieville, a business district in Manhattan, KS. Our goal was to propose changes that would make a positive impact on Aggieville without destroying the historical value of the district. As a group we would present our ideas to our peers, including any schematics we created as well as the cost of our endeavors. Throughout the project each member of the group had the opportunity of being the project lead, which gave us all an opportunity to manage the project and its outcomes.
This project was different than the majority of my other engineering projects because it required a broader scope. Instead of focusing on one aspect of the design, it was our job to manage all the changes we intended to make to Aggieville. It was this managerial perspective, as well as working together with my peers, that made this an intriguing and exciting project.
Background Info
As the oldest shopping district in Kansas, Aggieville has been serving K-State students and Manhattan residents for 128 years [1]. The district is made up of three major corridors that work as a hub of restaurants, bars, retail stores, and other businesses (Figure 1). Because of its age, Aggieville has periodically undergone remodels that modernize the district without destroying the historical value.
Building the Proposal
Throughout this project our group was exposed to several resources. During one of our class periods
Fig. 1. The three main corridors of Aggieville [2].
we had the opportunity to talk with the commissioner of the Aggieville Business Association (ABA), as well as the lead engineer on the current remodel, to determine what had been decided as well as road blocks hindering the progress of the remodel. For example, we learned at this meeting that parking was a major issue, and to combat the issue a parking garage is scheduled to be erected along 12th Street in the Laramie Corridor. We were also provided with results from several community surveys taken in recent years. A survey that was very helpful to our group regarding our design was a survey asking participants what they feel should happen to Moro Street, the street that runs along the Historic Corridor (Figure 1), after the parking garage is built.
Using these sources, we were able to build our design of the changes we wished to propose. Several of those changes include replacing slanted parking on the north side of Moro Street with increased sidewalk space (Figure 2), installing rising bollards at the intersections of 12th and Moro and Manhattan and Moro to allow temporary pedestrian zones for events (Figure 2), and increasing the greenery along Moro to make it more aesthetically pleasing and to make it feel cleaner.
Fig. 2. Before and after design changes regarding Moro Street.
Creative Design Elements
What set our group apart from other groups was our idea to create portable stations that could be used during peak pedestrian times, called Little Apple Stations (Figure 3). These stations would include trash and recycling dispensers, seating, increased lighting, and 911 emergency call buttons, much like those seen on college campuses. We felt these stations would provide much needed services, as well as make people feel safe.
Fig. 3. Little Apple Stations provide several services for pedestrians.
Takeaways
This project was a great indicator at how it might feel to manage a large-scale engineering project in the future. Because each person had the chance to lead the group, it also allowed me to direct the project and give it my own personal touch. Though this project was not geared toward engineering a part or a machine, it still required my engineering design process and critical thinking to produce a high quality design.
[1] Kansas Office of Tourism and Travel, "There's No Place Like Kansas," Kansas Office of Tourism and Travel, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.travelks.com/listing/aggieville-historic-district/1728/. [Accessed 19 04 2019].
[2] City of Manhattan Kansas, "Aggieville Community Vision Plan," City of Manhattan Kansas, Manhattan, KS, 2017.