Morehead city council members unanimously approved an ordinance at their regular April meeting to close off part of a road near MSU's campus, Button Place.
Button Place connects Main Street and East Second Street, sitting beside First Christian Church. This ordinance will close the portion closest to campus. Officials said the goal of this closure is to better direct drivers to a planned larger entrance, which will frame the upcoming science center, Bell Tower, and the Adron Doran University Center.
Kim Oatman is the Associate Vice President for Construction and the Chief Facilities Officer at MSU. He said smaller entryways like Button Place have proven to be ineffective and confusing for students trying to get to and from Main Street.
“This is going to be a nice wide entrance that’s safe, it has plenty of room for cars to come and go into campus. It’ll also connect to an existing road that’s already there that goes up to the bell tower,” said Oatman.
The plan also proposes nearly 50 new parking spots in the main area. Oatman added council members also requested space be left for greenery to balance out the new parking.
“Some of them were talking about green space. And that’s okay, we’re actually doing a lot for green space,” said Oatman. “This is going to improve the entryway into campus for our students who are coming in, coming down Main Street. They no longer have to go down these little alleyways to get to campus.”
Oatman added with the go-ahead from the city now secured, construction is set to take place throughout the summer and be completed in time for the fall semester. The newly proposed University Boulevard would be one street down, connecting East Main and East Second Streets as well as Nickel Place.
The construction joins multiple other projects in the works on Morehead State University’s campus, including the upcoming science building and newly reopened Cooper Hall.