Monday, April 6, 2009
Hunter Vore, Lawrence sophomore, usually parks in front of Strong Hall or Bailey Hall after 5 p.m. each day for his Spanish class, but now he will have to find a new spot to park.
Beginning on Friday the parking lots around Strong Hall, Bailey Hall and the Facilities Operations building were closed to accommodate the construction of a utility tunnel. The lots will be closed until Aug. 1.
Several areas of the Univerity campus have already been blocked off for construction projects that are expected to continue through the summer months, and may possibly extend into the fall semester.
Don Steeples, vice provost for scholarly support, said the new tunnel would run from the northeast corner of Strong Hall across Mississippi Street and intersect with tunnels installed last summer. The new tunnel will carry steam and data lines used for computers and telephones around campus.
Steeples said the construction needed to start now so that a majority of the project would be done before the fall semester.
“It’s going to take several months,” Steeples said. “It’s best to do it in the summer.”
Poplar Lane, a road behind Strong Hall, will also be closed during the construction. Steeples said a temporary road, which would run between Bailey Hall and Strong Hall, would allow traffic to flow behind Strong Hall and onto Jayhawk Boulevard.
Donna Hultine, director of parking and transit, said the only parking spots that would be available behind Strong Hall were under the Spencer Research Library’s canopy. Parking on Jayhawk Boulevard will be turned into a designated loading area for trucks unable to drive under the canopy.
Hultine said there would also be spots designated for handicapped parking on Jayhawk Boulevard to compensate for the spaces lost behind Strong and Bailey.
“We are definitely going to make sure that we don’t lose any of those stalls,” Hultine said. “Who’s really going to hurt a little bit are gold permit holders, so people who might normally have found a regular gold stall back there are not going to be able to park there.”
Michael Cherniss, professor of English and gold permit holder, said that he was glad to hear there would be more handicapped parking in front of Strong Hall, but that he was still concerned there might not be enough parking.
“I see no way that closing that area off of Jayhawk Boulevard, most behind Bailey, is not going to create parking problems,” Cherniss said.
Cherniss teaches three times a week at Wescoe Hall and said he needed a parking stall close to campus because he couldn’t walk long distances.
“Those of us who work up there try to park as close as we can to our buildings,” Cherniss said. “The space behind Bailey serves Bailey, Strong, Wescoe and probably some other buildings as well.”
Cherniss said he was concerned because finding a spot to park was already difficult at times.
“Fewer spaces means more competition for whatever spaces remain,” Cherniss said. “They tell you every year that there are more permits than there are parking spaces for the permits.”
Hultine said those who lost their spot behind Bailey Hall or Strong Hall could park in the garage on Mississippi Street. Dilawar Grewal, director of information services and a gold permit holder, said parking at the garage wouldn’t be a problem for him because it would be nice outside.
Rachel Wuntch, Dallas junior, said she thought the construction would cause problems only during finals.
“Right now it won’t be that much of an issue,” Wuntch said. “When it comes to finals week, when I’m at the library every day, it will be very difficult.”
Vore said he would make alternative plans to deal with the construction.
“I’ll just have to leave a little earlier, and walk a little further,” Vore said. “Assuming Memorial Drive doesn’t get too crowded.”
— — Edited by Grant Treaster
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Comments
Construction will make parking spots rare
I thought we were done with the steam tunnels for a while?
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