Health and Safety
Exercise
College Heights is designed with features to encourage walking. In addition to wide walkways between residential clusters, College Heights will have hiking and recreation trails all along the periphery of the development, to make walking for exercise easy and safe. By design, residents will walk and exercise more, suggesting a healthier lifestyle. Units in College Heights front on walkways, residents walk to reach the Village Center and the parking areas.
Auto Accidents
College Heights’s walkways and reduced use of cars in general will reduce risks from auto accidents.
The lack of cars helps both safety and security. Safety is significantly improved by reducing exposure to the dangers of traffic as a driver or as a pedestrian. The walking “street” is inherently safer.
Noise. Noise pollution within buildings will be prevented by extra sound proofing insulation between units. Walkways without cars mean no traffic noise.
Site Security
Security. Security measures include defendable space design (fencing, good sight lines, windows on the walkways, lighting, no hiding places). The main walkways and project entrances will have security video surveillance (CCTV) monitored from the Village Center. The Foothill Trail will be gated at night, limiting access. Security is inherently improved because cars are used in the majority of crimes against strangers. No cars allowed on the streets makes “casing” a target and getting away more difficult.
Defendable Space
College Heights fosters social patterns that create security. Defendable space is provided by windows overlooking the walkways and other areas, keeping neighbor’s “eyes on the street.” A quick search on the internet defines defendable space as: a physical environment in which the neighborhood’s social organization deters crime (www.gingersoftware.com).
Courtyards are small enough to support neighbors knowing who their neighbors are. Also, sightlines, lighting and landscaping are designed for security. The courtyards and the play areas are safe places for children to play in view of their parent’s home. Community ties–neighbors looking out for one another–makes for a safe neighborhood.
Public Safety Access
Police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances have unfettered access to the walkways, which are designed for emergency access.
