Western Michigan University has begun construction of a road behind a 19th-century home that sits in a grove of oak trees on its main campus.
WMU Biology Professor Todd Barkman is a member of the university's tree committee.
He said it toured the Oaklands property late last month, one of several tours members have taken.
Barkman said the committee approves of the planned route of the road.
“It was really how one would hope and dream planning would go. Planning that would take into account the existing landscape and try to work with it rather than start from a clean slate.”
Some community members worried the project would affect the oak trees on the property, but Barkman said the final plan avoids harm to the old oaks.
“I think the tree committee would say that this is certainly the best possible outcome that could have been achieved for that difficult and sensitive landscape.”
He added that he believes the construction marks a “new era” for planning at WMU, with the university working with natural landscapes on campus, rather than against them.
Western is considering tearing down a different historical 19th-century home on its property, the State Hospital Gatehouse.
