I’ve spent a lot of time observing Red Square this quarter and I’ve noticed one thing in particular that is very alarming. As my overly enthusiastic student tour guide exclaimed during my first visit to Western Washington University, “You’re not actually a student here until you’ve tripped over a brick in Red Square.” This has been proven true by the countless students that I’ve watched try to maneuver through this clay obstacle course. It’s interesting to watch because you can spot out the new students, watching the bricks and trying not to fall. In a book about the evolution of Western, Ronald L. De Lorme writes, “Besides being aesthetically pleasing, the brick pavement motif served a practical purpose. Grass would not withstand the tramping of 1,000 to 10,000 pairs of feet. Since the area had once been a boggy lake, concrete or asphalt pavement would be prone to cracking the architects suggested bricks set in hard-packed sand would be flexible and easily maintained.” They were right! The “boggy lake” that used to be where Red Square is has been warping the square for years, making the bricks shift and become uneven. With an estimated 8,000 red bricks it’s not all that surprising that some students have a hard time making it through the square without tripping at least once.

 

The Danger of Creativity

       It’s not only the shifting of the bricks that contributes to this problem. Western Washington University is filled with many artistic students that are constantly “stealing” the bricks to customize them, leaving Red Square with unique artistic bricks scattered throughout the square. Although these bricks give Red Square character and allow the students of Western to express themselves, when they are removed it leaves spaces in the bricks that other students then trip on. Some of these missing bricks are right in the middle of the busy walkway that is used by thousands of students daily, slowing the flow of traffic. Personally, I love walking through Red Square and seeing these bricks, but is it worth it to create this art when it also causes students to trip and potentially injure themselves?

 

Collecting Water

       The spaces between the bricks also collect water and snow in the winter and hide among the bricks that still remain, making it even more impossible to avoid them. This problem exists where the bricks have shifted and the earth beneath has warped the path as well. On rainy days, large deep puddles form where the ground has sank beneath the bricks, slowing traffic throughout the square making it an ineffective way to get from one side of campus to the other. This is unfortunate because transportation through campus is one of Red Squares main purposes among many others.

 

Saving Money

       According to Western Washington University's outdoor maintenance supervisor, “Brick maintenance can be expensive with brick replacement and labor costing $800 last year. The labor associated with brick maintenance last year alone totaled $50,000."  Totaling at $50,800 yearly for brick replacement and labor is the same as buying 12,280 vanilla bean frappuccinos or tuition for six in state students (or two out of state students). That’s a lot of money, but it doesn’t need to be so expensive. If Western were to use my solution (which is described next) the university would save over $15,000 yearly on brick replacement and maintenance.

 

The Solution

       Due to the current warped shape of Red Square I think it would be appropriate to completely remove all of the bricks and relevel the ground beneath. The best time to do this would be during summer quarter due to the significant drop of enrolled students. Because there are still students and classes during the summer and all year long, the square could never completely be closed off. The map on page 3 highlights three sections of Red Square that could be closed off separately, each for three weeks to accommodate the ever present flow of traffic. After removing and sorting out all of the bricks that aren’t damaged and could be used again, a team of five would work for three weeks (6 hours a day at $10.50) to level the ground and reset the bricks. After one section is done the team would move onto the next section for three weeks and again for the remaining third. This construction would last nine weeks which would be the duration of the 2016 summer quarter. To level the ground and make it less susceptible to warping, the maintenance team would need to first lay pebbled rocks, then smaller rocks until reaching the consistency of sand and finally placing the bricks on top. Using these rocks would help to solidify and reinforce the sand under the bricks to help keep the ground from warping so dramatically. Each section would cost roughly $1,323 to replace including labor, totaling $19,845 to completely replace the bricks and relevel the ground beneath the whole square. With bricks roughly costing $5,000 total for the three sections (depending on the amount of bricks that could be reused) and the sand/gravel would only cost roughly $2,000.

Another maintenance crew of four people would then need to spend one week at the end of each quarter repairing and possibly releveling parts of Red Square that get the most traffic to keep the repairs minimal each quarter. This would cost $7,056 yearly. If each quarter Western’s maintenance crew keeps up on the brick repair the square will never get as out of shape as it is now saving WWU thousands of dollars yearly.

Initially this plan would cost the university $34,901 total for the replacement of the bricks, labor and a year’s worth of repairs. It would only cost $7,056 every following year to keep up on the bricks after replacing and releveling the first year. This would save Western $42,944 every year. This money can then go toward other projects or programs within the Western.

 

Creating Jobs for Students

       This plan could also easily be implemented by the students of WWU, under the supervision of the existing maintenance crew. Employing these students would have several benefits rather than bringing in professionals. First off, these students would inevitably spend some of their paychecks toward various things on campus (food, coffee, books, tuition etc.) therefore bringing the money back to WWU and essentially reducing the amount of money spent by the university. Student workers would also be cheaper than professionals due to their lack of experience.

 

Can We Fix it? Yes We Can!

       Because the bricks are small enough to shift and not just crack doesn’t mean they are “easily maintained” like De Lorme anticipated. Western’s outdoor maintenance crew is constantly trying to solve the ever present brick problem in Red Square. There are also alumni purchasing bricks to engrave and replace in the square to help with brick maintenance, but these are only temporary solutions to an ever present problem. On average* each student at Western pays $8,610 yearly for tuition. This money has gone to great use for various different sustainability projects and improvements throughout Western, but now the bricks need some attention. They are wearing away and becoming safety hazards for everyone. The current maintenance at Western has a plan in place to fix this problem, but there are more effective ways to return safety to Red Square.

 

 

* Average based on Washington State resident student’s yearly WWU tuition.