In addition to new class schedules, University of Alabama students are adjusting to campus parking changes upon their return from the holiday break, as various roads and portions of parking lots have been closed.
An initiative known as the Campus Master Plan, which was approved by the Board of Trustees in November, includes plans for a new 750-space parking deck near Riverside Residence Hall and adjustments to various parking lots and streets.
The Riverside parking deck began construction while students were away over the holiday and upon return, residents noticed that the construction had taken up precious parking spaces.
UA’s Housing and Residential Department emailed residents on Jan. 11, informing them the construction removed roughly 290 spaces on the west side of the Riverside East Yellow Residential surface lot. The emailed also stated 190 new spaces were available on the east side of the lot to “offset this loss of parking.”
Despite these accommodations, less parking is available for the 22,454 parking permits that were sold in fall 2012, said UA spokeswoman Cathy Andreen, and some students often find themselves hard-pressed locating an available spot.
Leah Horn, a freshman majoring in communicative disorders, enjoys the protected parking of the Ferguson Deck but has noticed a general decrease in available spaces.
“It has become a lot harder to find a spot in that deck because so many people who normally park elsewhere have had to move because of the construction,” Horn said. “I feel that it might have been wiser to wait until the summer since it affects a large number of students.”
Although parking is currently limited, the Riverside parking deck will eventually provide more parking for the rapidly increasing number of students who live and drive on campus.
“Parking in the Riverside lot has definitely been a problem,” Matthew Warren, a freshman majoring in aerospace engineering, said. “The addition of the new deck will definitely help.”
Other changes made to parking spaces on campus include the closing of the South Rose Reserve lot, the SEC Reserve lot and the northern half of the South Ferguson lot. Barnwell lot is now only available to those with an orange residential parking pass.
In addition to the several parking lots undergoing adjustments, 7th Avenue and Margaret Drive have also been changed.
Seventh Avenue is now closed to through traffic and parking due to construction in the area. A new gate has been installed where Margaret Drive connects to Capstone Drive behind Gorgas Library.
Access to the gate is only available for faculty, staff and those with a UA disability permit. The gate can be opened by swiping an ACT card or purchasing an RFID tag for $10 to open it remotely. The gate will go up at 4:30 p.m. every weekday and will remain closed until 6 a.m. It will be open around the clock on weekends.
Along with the new gate, two spaces to the right of Margaret Drive have been converted to a turn-around area. Chris D’Esposito, assistant director of parking services, said the gate was constructed to create a cleaner flow of traffic.
“This change is designed to eliminate pass-through traffic in this congested area. Most of the traffic in this area in the past was non-UA-permit holders,” D’Esposito said.
The Riverside parking deck is estimated to be complete by the start of the 2013 fall semester. The South Rose Reserve, Southeast Commuter and northern half of the South Ferguson parking lots are closed permanently and 7th Avenue parking will not return.
