Security

The campus is an open environment which welcomes students, faculty, staff, and visitors onto the campus. As an academic institution, this openness is critical to encourage community participation in the campus lifestyle. Security procedures on campus should engender a safe environment, but should not detract from the open, welcoming aspect of the campus. Detailed information is available in the appendix and in the guidelines section.

Roadways

Construction of additional athletic and special event facilities will attract additional visitors to the campus. Combined with the planned increase in student population, vehicular traffic on campus will increase in the coming years. Direct or straight roadway access to the university buildings should be minimized. Indirect access decreases the potential for a vehicle to crash into the buildings, whether intentionally or accidentally. Adjacent hardscape should also provide deterrents to vehicle access to building exteriors such as fixed bollards, concrete planters, decorative concrete fixtures or elevation changes. Major roadways should lead to minor roadways which should lead to parking areas. Drop-off areas, where necessary, should be set back from the building face.

Pedestrians

Pedestrian access to the campus will also undergo significant changes as the master plan is implemented. As pedestrian traffic increases, a proportional increase in pedestrian walkways and other accommodations will be provided. Pedestrian pathways should be open, providing a clear view for an extended distance. Landscaping should be planned to provide unobstructed views both initially and when the landscaping matures.

Lighting

Adequate lighting is desirable throughout the site. The appropriate use of lighting will enhance security and help foster a safe and secure environment. Appropriate lighting is important for many reasons including the deterrence of criminal activity, discouraging unwanted visitors, assisting security personnel in their ability to view, identify and respond to security situations, and promoting a sense of safety and security with tenants and visitors. Metal halide lighting is recommended as it provides neutral color balance.

Access Control

UTSA currently employs access control devices on the new building perimeter entrances and a limited number of existing buildings. All new projects are designed with these devices in place to control after-hours access to the buildings. This practice should be continued and should also be expanded to include all existing buildings on campus as capital funds become available.

Dispatch and Control Center

The space required to house the monitoring and direction of campus security activities will increase along with the growth of the campus. Current facilities are not sufficient for additional growth. The Dispatch and Control Center (DCC) should be divided into separate functional elements: one providing the dispatch and emergence response function and the other providing the security monitoring and control functions. The two functions benefit from being co-located, but the requirements of each functional element are more than one person can handle. The planned growth within the next five years alone will far exceed the capabilities of the current design.

Sensitive operations of the DCC should be physically protected in order to prevent accidental or intentional damage. As such, the location of the DCC should not be on a building perimeter wall and should be somewhat protected from public areas. This should be balanced with a central location so that the other UTSA Police Department functions can be maintained.

The DCC will require a main monitoring and control room and an adjacent equipment room. The console room will accommodate the dispatch, monitoring and control elements of the systems, whereas the equipment room will contain those system components that do not need to be accessed regularly. Roughly 1500 square feet will be required for various control, equipment, and storage functions. A breakdown of this footage is provided in the appendix.