Radford University needs more land and connections with transportation systems across the New River Valley, consultants told the board of visitors Wednesday.

Keith Storms and Steve Gift, of the architectural company Hanbury, Evans, Wright, Vlattas and Co., are working on the university's campus master plan. They presented a preliminary version during the board's meeting at the Hotel Roanoke.

"Nothing you see is set in stone," Storms said as he began the presentation. More concrete recommendations are expected in September.

But some elements of the plan seem definite.

"There are not many open spots left on the campus proper," Storms said. "The space between buildings is almost as important as the buildings on campus. Those spaces between buildings are what make a campus."

But the university's plans include more than $211 million worth of new buildings. They have to go somewhere. Storms offered some suggestions, cautioning that they are not his company's final recommendations.

A new science and technology building might go where Whitt Hall, the business building, sits now. A new business and economics building and a parking deck could be built at Tyler Avenue and Adams Street. A new convocation center could be built down Main Street at the old Burlington factory that one of the university's foundations bought last year. It's now an indoor practice facility for Radford's baseball and softball teams.

Storms' research indicates that Radford needs about 1,200 more beds -- the university has just more than 3,000 now -- and students prefer suites and apartments over traditional dormitory designs.

"We want to understand what the market wants, but we don't necessarily build to the market," Storms said.

Putting freshmen in apartment-style housing might not build the sense of community that colleges want to promote.

Parking is a perennial campus problem, but some Radford policies are making things worse, Storms said. Radford sells 5,700 permits, but has only 4,100 parking spaces. Designating passes for specific parking areas could reduce traffic around campus. Much of the swirl of cars around campus comes from drivers looking for a spot close to their destination.

Some universities don't allow first-year students to have cars. According to Storms, just about everyone surveyed -- except for freshmen -- thought that would be a good way to ease parking problems at Radford.

But President Penelope Kyle said that in Charlottesville, University of Virginia students can walk, bike or take a bus just about anywhere they need to go.

"If you can't take a car to school in Radford, you can't even get to the Wal-Mart," Kyle said.

Storms recommended improving the university's shuttle bus service and tying the campus to transit systems that can reach Pulaski, Dublin, Christiansburg and Blacksburg.

In terms of demographics, Gift said, Radford and Radford University are in a situation similar to the one Blacksburg and Virginia Tech found themselves in about the time Blacksburg Transit was formed.

At Monday's Radford City Council meeting, City Manager Tony Cox mentioned that he and his staff are looking into the possibility of establishing a public transit system.