Prepared for Ron Hostick

Cal Polys Landscape Manager

Proposal to Investigate Solutions to Students Walking Through Planters at

Cal Poly

Prepared by Elaina Ryan

Submitted November 27, 2016

Table of Contents

Introduction1-2
Methods...2-3
Primary.2-3
Secondary.3
Results..3-6
Primary.3-5
Secondary.5-6
Conclusions.6-7
Recommendation7
References...8
Figures Referenced8

Table of Figures
Figure 1: Map of a frequently traveled through planter..1
Figure 2: Walking Through Planters Response,..4
Figure 3: Paving Pathways Response,.5

Introduction
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to determine the best solution to the issue of foot traffic through Cal
Polys planters. When surveyed, over half of Cal Polys student body reported that they did walk
through planters on a daily basis, and 38 percent said that the need to do this annoyed them [1]. I
will be presenting two possible and plausible solutions, and discuss them in depth while analyzing
the cost-benefit ratio of each. After doing so, I will determine which solution offers the best
advantages, and recommend that the solution be implemented immediately. My client for this
report will be Ron Hostick, Cal Polys landscape manager.
Background
Right now, many Cal Poly students walk through planters daily in order to navigate the campus.
When surveyed, 56 percent of Cal Poly students surveyed said that they walk through the planters
because it is more convenient than walking around them [1]. This is a problem that has arisen from
Cal Poly adding more buildings, without adding proper pathways between them. Planters are often
placed in areas that need to handle high volumes of foot traffic, causing students to walk through
the planters. This leads to 38 percent of students surveyed becoming frustrated and irritated while
they are trying to get to classes in a short amount of time [1].
One of the most frequently walked-through planters on campus is the path between the North
Mountain dorms and the main part of campus. This pathway can be seen in the figure below,
marked in red. For the purpose of this report, I will be analyzing this planter and how my solutions
would be applied to it, rather than analyzing every walked through planter on campus.

Figure 1: Map of a frequently traveled through planter [2]

Organization
The following section of this report contains the Methods section. In this section I will detail the
research I did and the sources of outside information I used, and how they related to the report and
issue discussed. The next section, Results, contains the information I was able to collect from my
research. In the third section, Conclusion, I will analyze my results, compare my solutions, and
assess the individual benefits and drawbacks to each potential solution. In the final section of this
report, I will recommend one of the two following solutions:

Pave concrete pathways through the planters that are frequently walked through to create
more logical pathways through campus.
Plant additional plants and shrubs in the planters that are frequently walked through,
preventing foot traffic, and forcing students to walk around the planters.

Methods
It is essential to the success of this report that extensive research is done. I conducted my research
for two goals, and by using two methods. My first goal was to discover how students of Cal Poly
felt about the issue of walking through planters, and how to facilities team at Cal Poly felt about
the issue. Additionally, I wanted to find out how each party would like to see the issue resolved so
that I would be able to recommend a solution that would be pleasing for both. My second goal was
to research which solution would be the most cost effective over the short and long run. I conducted
my research using two methods: obtaining primary and secondary sources.

Primary Sources
Student Survey
228 Cal Poly students from all class levels responded to the following questionnaire:
-

What year are you?

Do you live on campus?
Do you often walk though planted areas (not including grass) while on campus?
o If yes, do you walk through the planters because it is more convenient than walking
around them?
Do you find it irritating or annoying that it is often necessary to walk through planters while
on campus?
Would you like Cal Poly to pave paths through the planters that are frequently walked
through?

I sent it to all the current undergraduate classes at Cal Poly so that I could obtain results that
reflected Cal Polys entire student body rather than just a small sample. I purposefully created the
survey to be short and very simple to fill out in order to encourage as many people as possible to
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answer it. This being said, the survey provided me with an accurate understanding of the some of
the student bodys feelings towards this issue, and how they would like for it to be solved.

Interview with a Cal Poly Facilities Representative

I emailed Ron Hostick, Cal Polys landscape manager at rhostick@calpoly.edu to request an
interview to gain insight about the issue of students walking through planters.
Ron Hostick
Landscape Manager, California Polytechnic State University

Secondary Sources
Pricing Guidelines for the Solutions
I will be using Home Depots entire website to locate the cost of plants and concrete.

Durability Analysis of Concrete

I found a webpage created by cement.com which discusses the durability of concrete under several
different conditions and situations.

Long Term Costs of Concrete

This article featured on concretenetwork.org provides an extensive explanation of the care required
to keep cement pathways in good condition.

Results
This section will describe what information I was able to obtain from the sources listed in the
Methods section, and how I will be applying it to the issue.

Student Survey
The student survey provided me with an excellent understanding of how Cal Polys student body
felt about the issue of walking through planters, why the issue existed, and how the students wanted
the issue to be solved. Approximately half of the students surveyed responded that they did walk
through planters on Cal Polys campus, not including grass, on a regular basis [1]. Of those who
responded that they did walk through the planters, almost 100 percent said that they did this
because it was more convenient than walking around them [1]. Surprisingly, only 38 percent of
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students surveyed said that walking through planters annoyed them; however, 70 percent said that
they would like Cal Poly to pave pathways through the frequently walked through planters [1].

Figure 2: Walking Through

Planters Response [1]

Figure 3: Paving Pathways

Response [1]

Interview with a Cal Poly Facilities Representative

I asked Ron Hostick the following questions in email form and have included his answers below
1. Are you aware that Cal Poly students often walk through planted areas (not including grass)
on their way to and from classes?
Yes.
2. How does this issue effect the landscaping, maintenance, and facilities teams?
It depresses us to see our landscape trampled but it is part of the job. We use a
variety of methods to try and direct traffic, plant types, fencing, benches and trash
cans. Sometimes we are successful other times we give in and let the path develop
then try to get funding if it can be made an accessible path to make it permeant.
3. Has this issue ever been brought to the attention of these teams before?
Not since I've been here
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4. In your opinion, as a representative from the facilities team, would it be better to pave paths
through planters that are frequently walked though, or plant more plants in these planters
that would prevent foot traffic?
Pave paths, if it can be done with accessibility in mind.
5. If you were to plant plants in the bare areas to prevent foot traffic, are there already watering
systems in place? Would maintenance in the areas be drastically increased with the addition
of new plants? Are these areas already being watered?
Most are watered. In my experience planting without a barrier is useless, the plants
just get trampled.
6. Do you have a different solution that you think would be worth investigating?
I would love to see if a "don't tread on me" sign campaign would be effective but
have never had the resources to install and maintain the signage.

Pricing Guidelines for the Solutions

I used Home Depots website to determine how much it would cost to fill in the bare sections of
planters where students usually walk with new, larger plants that would prevent foot traffic. I found
a shrub that would work nicely for this purpose called a Blue Princess Holly Shrub. This shrub
grows to be 96 inches wide by 96 inches tall, is drought resistant, grows year round, and can handle
being in constant direct sunlight [3]. The cost for one of these shrubs is $30.99. The planter areas
that students walk through already have irrigation systems in place and have fertile soil suitable
for planting in, so I will not be including those costs in this report [4].
Also on the website, I found that a 94 pound bag of cement mix costs $7.94. One bag will pave
one square foot of land, and for each bag of concrete mix used, an additional 2 bags of an aggregate
called Quickrete is needed [3]. Each bag of Quickrete costs $3.51.

Durability Analysis of Concrete

This article contains an indepth analysis of the durability of concrete. It claims that materials in
concrete can be specially mixed and proportioned in order to increase the durability of the concrete
you are laying depending on how it will be used. Additionally, the article discusses that concrete
pathways are often designed to last thirty years, but usually will last for fifty to one hundred years
beyond that [5]. This webpages also provides analysis of the durability of concrete under several
different factors including weather, erosion, chemicals, and abrasion. Concrete is extremely
durable under almost all of the conditions listed in the article.

Long Term Costs of Concrete

This webpage provides an extensive explanation of the care required to keep cement pathways in
good condition. A large factor in determining which solution to the problem of walking through
planters is assessing the upkeep concrete pathways will need. The frequency of need for concrete
maintenance is directly proportional to the wear and tear it receives [6]. In solution one, the
concrete paths would only be walked on, which creates virtually no wear and tear. This means that
the concrete would require no maintenance.

Conclusions
The issue of students needing to walk through planters is one that is challenging to solve. As Cal
Polys campus has grown alongside its student body, appropriate and logical pathways have not
been developed. This has caused students and faculty to walk through Cal Polys planted areas,
creating unsightly bare patches, slowing the flow of foot traffic, and causing irritation and
annoyance for some students [1].
I have calculated a rough estimate of the cost involved in implementing my two solutions. Rather
than calculating the cost to either pave or plant all of Cal Polys traveled through planters, I will
be analyzing only one pathway, which can be seen in Figure 1. This pathway is approximately 50
feet long, but only about 2 feet wide. The itemized costs of each solution can be seen in the charts
below. While examining both solutions, I have disregarded the cost of labor that would be involved
in implementing either solution, because they it would cost approximately the same for each.
My first solution to this problem is to pave pathways through these commonly walked through
planters. This would not interrupt the current flow of foot traffic and would allow students to have
accessible pathways in the areas that they are most needed. This solution would be slightly more
costly initially, as pouring concrete walkways can be expensive. However, there would be no cost
to maintain the walkways, and they would last for at least thirty years [5]. Thus, the only true cost
in this option would be the initial cost of paving the walkways.

Solution One: Pave Pathways

Cost

Concrete Mix (100 bags needed at $7.97 each)

Quickrete Aggregate (200 bags needed at $3.51 each)
Total Initial Cost
Cost to Maintain Pathways over a 30 year period
Total Cost of Solution One

$860.76
$758.16
$1618.92
$0
$1618.92

My second solution to this problem is to plant larger and heartier plants in the bare patches of
planters where students usually walk. This would prevent students from walking through the
planters, and redirect the flow of foot traffic. This option is less favorable from the standpoint of a
students, but more favorable for the overall look of Cal Poly [1]. This option would not eliminate
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the annoyance that students feel while walking on campus, as it would not create more logical
walking paths. However, it would make our campus more beautiful, which is something everyone
could appreciate. This solution would be slightly cheaper initially, since the cost of plants and soil
would be less than the costs involved with pouring concrete [3]. That being said, this solution
would continue to cost Cal Poly in the long run. In this analysis, I am assuming that approximately
three shrubs per year will need to be replanted due to causes beyond Cal Polys control. When the
cost of maintenance that this solution requires is included, it will ultimately be far more expensive
than solution one.

Solution Two: Plant the Pathways

Cost

Shrubs (50 needed at 30.99 each)

Total Initial Cost
Cost to Maintain Planters over a 30 year period
Total Cost of Solution Two

$1549.50
$1549.50
$2789.10
$4338.60

Cal Poly students have an opinion about which solution is best as well. When surveyed, 70 percent
of students said that they would like Cal Poly to pave pathways through planters that are frequently
walked through [1]. Ultimately, solution one will be cheaper, more effective at solving the problem
the lack of pathways on campus, and favored by the students. Solution one will not increase the
beauty of the campus like solution two would, but I that is a small price to pay for the benefits
solution one can offer.

Recommendations
Based on my research and analysis, I recommend that Cal Poly Facilities pave cement pathways
through the frequently walked through planters in order to help the flow of foot traffic. The next
step in this process is begin buying the required supplies, and to identify all planters at Cal Poly
that need to be paved.

References
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[1] E. Ryan, Walking through Planters at Cal Poly SLO, Survey. 11 November 2016.
[2] California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo,. Cal Poly Campus Map. 2016.
Web. 23 Nov. 2016.
[3] "The Home Depot". Homedepot.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.
[4] Hostick, Ron. Students Walking Through Planter Areas. 2016. via email.
[5] "Durability". Cement.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.
[6] "Guide To Maintaining A Concrete Driveway - The Concrete Network".
Concretenetwork.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.

Figures Referenced
[2] Figure 1. Map of a frequently traveled through planter Cal Poly Campus Map. 2016.
[1] Figure 2. Walking Through Planters Response, Survey. 11 November 2016.
[1] Figure 3. Paving Pathways Response, Survey. 11 November 2016.