The University of Kentucky is enhancing safety and security across campus and UK HealthCare through a series of Facilities Management projects that improve lighting, visibility, emergency communication and building access in key areas.
Recent work includes upgraded street and sidewalk lighting, expanded camera coverage, additional blue emergency towers and new badge reader access points — all designed to support a safer, more secure environment for students, employees, patients and visitors.
The projects, led by the Facility Project Management team in collaboration with the University of Kentucky Police Department (UKPD), reflect UK’s ongoing commitment to enhancing safety infrastructure.
“Our department routinely looks at where and how we can improve our layered campus safety implementations,” said UK Police Chief Joe Monroe. “These improvements reflect our continued focus on prevention, preparedness and creating a campus environment where students, employees, patients and visitors can feel supported.”
In total, 61 light poles have been installed along key campus corridors, improving visibility along Limestone, Upper, Winslow, Scott and Bolivar streets, as well as along Hilltop Avenue and down both sides of the walkway that leads to the new Kirwan-Blanding Residence Hall. Street lighting is also currently being added up College Way to Sports Center Drive and is scheduled to be completed early fall. The project was guided by a lighting study which determined where additional lighting would have the greatest impact on safety.
“Now, with the additional lighting we’ve installed, we exceed the lighting standard in these project areas,” said Joe Kelly, facilities project management director in Facilities Management.
An additional project expanded safety and security infrastructure at Upper and Bolivar Streets through the installation of additional blue emergency towers and cameras. The project added more than 30 cameras to the Cornerstone parking garage to help monitor the garage interior and surrounding streets, improving visibility and awareness in a high-traffic area of campus.
The safety and security improvements also extend to UK HealthCare where a five-phase project added badge readers and cameras throughout several UK HealthCare buildings, including exterior cameras at select locations. A mobile police unit was also added outside UK Good Samaritan Hospital.
“Our commitment is simple: to help create and maintain a safe environment so that UK can fulfill its mission of education, research, service and care,” Monroe said. “That means listening to the needs of our campus community, investing in tools that support public safety and working every day with our partners to strengthen the places people rely on.”
Together, the projects reflect UK’s continued commitment to safety and the collaborative work taking place to strengthen the infrastructure that supports students, employees, patients and visitors across campus and UK HealthCare.
“My team is proud to work on projects such as this — projects that reflect careful planning, strong collaboration and a shared commitment to a safe environment for everyone who studies, works, visits or receives care at UK,” Kelly said.
UK Photo | Carter Skaggs