ONGOING CONSTRUCTION AT UTAH STATE MEANS NEW TRAVEL ROUTES AND PARKING PLACEMENT
As construction continues steadily on the new recital hall on the east end of campus and the new housing complex and parking structure at the west end of campus, travel and parking changes are underway.
In the current stages of construction, the southeast section of the Fine Arts parking lot will no longer be accessible for parking, and beginning Friday, Aug. 20, vehicles will no longer be able to use Champ Drive as a through street from 400 N. to 700 N.
Those entering Champ Drive from 400 N. will still be able to travel past Family Life, Ray B. West and Old Main, ending up at the Haight Alumni House turnaround, but will no longer be able to travel through to 700 N. or Darwin Ave. This will become a dead-end street, with emergency access to campus only.
The northwest end of Champ Drive will be closed between the Taggart Student Center and the LDS Institute. The shuttle turnaround at the northwest end of the student center will still be accessible and functional, but the road and crosswalk between the two buildings will be for pedestrian use only. This area will later become part of the new housing complex, and will be converted to a pedestrian-friendly courtyard and walkway.
Just below the new housing complex, a parking structure will be built to accommodate those living in the new residences, as well as faculty and staff that are A2 permit-holders. There will also be parking for visitors who may pay by the hour. Access to the new parking structure will be available from 700 E. or near the north side of the Haight Alumni House.
According to Lisa Leishman, director of parking and transportation services, the new structure has been a part of Utah State’s master plan for some time.
“We had always planned on putting a parking structure in place of the old heating plant because of it’s a prime location,” said Leishman. “Then the addition of the new housing complex came along, and the additional parking was necessary.”
In addition to the new structure, there are also changes occurring in parking areas at the other end of campus with the addition of the new recital hall. The hall is replacing approximately 101 parking stalls in the C2 parking lot, west of the Fine Arts Visual building.
To accommodate for the lost faculty parking, the designation of the parking lot south of the Nutrition and Food Science (NFS) building, previously designated for students, has been changed to allow for both students and faculty.
The east half of the parking lot is dedicated to students and is only accessible from 700 N. Faculty and staff are allotted the western half, accessible from 1200 E. only.
Both students and faculty can also use the lot to the north of the NFS building, which was formerly designated for faculty use only.
The Recital Hall, a 14-month project, will be complete by fall semester 2005, but until that time pedestrian traffic will be re-routed. Those entering or exiting the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, the Kent Concert Hall or from the west doors of the Fine Arts Visual will no longer be able to travel straight through the parking lot.
Pedestrians must travel either north, toward Rich Hall or south, toward the engineering building, and around the construction zone to get to the Taggart Student Center.
With the loss of the approximately 101 stalls, Leishman said planning is in the works for a new parking structure to be built next to the recital hall in about 2010, in order to provide accommodation for those attending events at the recital hall as well as at the Kent Concert Hall.
“Because so much of the available space on campus is being covered by buildings, the only way to go is up,” said Leishman, discussing the parking situation on campus.
The parking structure being built in place of the old heating plant will rise four levels and will have approximately 603 stalls. The entire parking and housing complex will be complete in 2006, but the bottom two or three levels of the parking structure will be complete and open for use by summer 2005.
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