Stephanie Platt of The Current

Let there be parking! Gary Grace, vice chancellor of student affairs, cuts the red ribbon, opening the new west parking garage to campus commuters. Also in attendance were (left to right) Maureen Zegel, Capt. James Smalley, Wendell Smith, Gloria Schultz, Gary Grace, Joanne Bocci, and India Grimes.

by Shavon Perkins
staff associate

In a ribbon cutting ceremony Oct. 11, the new parking garage on West Drive officially opened.

The 664 parking spot structure will bring the number of available parking spots on the North and South Campuses to approximately 5,700.

The garage was designed with safety in mind.

"The open design allows you to see through to the other levels, and the interior is painted a bright white to cut down on shadows. There is plenty of lighting and emergency phones throughout the garage. We will be adding cameras soon," said Reinhard Schuster, vice chancellor of Administrative Services.

The exterior of the garage is different as well.

"The exterior was designed to appear as another building, to blend into the landscape and not stand out as an eyesore," said Robert Samples, director of University Communications.

Samples went on to say, "Students, faculty and staff all pay for parking, and we are providing the best parking facilities we can."

Of the 5,700 spots currently available for parking, around 700 will be lost in the near future.

"In March we will be tearing down Garage H which currently has 360 parking spots as that is the site of the new Performing Arts Center. We will also lose spots in Lot E, which is near the Student Center, this spring. That will bring us down to around 5,000 spots," Schuster said.

Parking Garages C and D are expected to be removed soon also.

"Within the next three years Garages C and D will either be torn down or fall down. They were built as temporary structures and their life expectancy is coming to an end," Samples said.

Recently the University purchased 13 to 14 acres of land along East Drive for more than $1 million for a new garage.

Schuster said the Tarlton Corporation expects to complete construction on that garage by early 2001.

"The garage is expected to cost around $8 million. The building costs are one half million more than the West Drive structure because of site conditions," Schuster said. "There were utilities already present for the West Drive structure, [but] they will have to be installed to the site of the East Drive garage."

The new West Drive on which the new garage is sitting is only partially open for traffic.

"The highway department does not want it opened until traffic lights are installed," Schuster said. "We expect those to be put in within the next three to four weeks. For now, you can make a right turn onto Natural Bridge, but not a left turn."