WWU’s desire paths

People want to get from point A to B in the quickest way but sometimes that path isn’t the one engineered by cities, or in this case, a university. Instead of taking the paved routes designed for foot traffic, we find shortcuts, cutting across lawns or hills to reach the destination quicker.

Desire paths, or desire lines, are a pathway that is created by foot. Merriam-Webster defines them as “an unplanned route or path that is used by pedestrians in preference to or in the absence of a designated alternative.” 

In the life of a college student, time is money. When you have to rush from one side of campus to the other for your next class that starts in 10 minutes,  the quickest route may include taking a desired path. 

At Western Washington University these desirable paths have been created by students coming from dormitories, parking lots, bus stops and more. Some of campus’ most prominent ones are captured in the above and below images. If desire paths interest you, try scrolling on the reddit page for desire paths.

Although desire paths serve an important purpose in our day to day lives, it should be noted that they can have a negative environmental impact. The National Park Service’s Leave No Trace ethics say to “avoid making parallel trails, cutting switchbacks or widening trails” especially in sensitive habitats. Your local parks and trails will alert you of sensitive areas where wildlife or plant life may be endangered.

This desire path cuts away from the walkway toward the Viking Union and heads toward the Performing Arts Center at WWU. This is one of the more well known desire paths at WWU thanks to its proximity to the Viking Union and Wilson Library.

One of the more aesthetically pleasing desire paths at WWU is found at the top of the 12G parking lot near Fairhaven College. This path cuts through the shrubs up a small hill that could be climbed with the use of stairs seen just past the desire path.

Many student athletes and fans use this desire path to cut toward WWU’s soccer field, Harrington Field and WWU’s softball field, Viking Field. This area is home to many desire paths that all point out the lack of a staircase down to these fields from the C parking lot.

There is no size requirement for a desire path. In this case we see many students and staff are cutting corners on their way to and from Haggard Hall. This is a textbook desire path that avoids a corner and creates a triangle shortcut.

This desire path has seen better days. The summer quarter and lack of foot travel at WWU has led to it becoming overgrown, but when school is in full swing, students will likely go right back to using this path to avoid the busy traffic of the school’s most accessible parking lot.

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