Construction on campus is meant to improve the University, whether it is in the form of renovation or new buildings — but the construction hasn’t come without destruction — that of parking spaces.
A new construction project, located southwest of Lee Residence Hall, will provide parking that was displaced by the construction of buildings in the DE parking zone of central campus.
Parking spots are being added in this location since the construction of the First Year College building, across from Owen Beach, along with other construction projects on Cates Avenue are overtaking existing parking — displacing about 60 DE parking spots overall, according to Tom Kendig, director of transportation services.
“The parking that is being displaced by the construction of the First Year College [building] is being replaced at the location behind Lee [Residence Hall],” Kevin MacNaughton, associate vice chancellor for facilities, said. “We have a policy here at N.C. State that if you take away parking, you have to replace it.”
According to Kendig, the policy states any parking displaced by new buildings on campus must be replaced. The second requirement of the policy says any construction that displaces parking requires that for each 600 square feet of new building space, there must be one parking space provided.
“Any new building that comes in on [an existing] parking area will have to provide more parking spaces than it actually impacts,” Kendig said.
Kendig said the basis of the parking policy is so permit holders don’t have to “bear the costs of [the displacement of parking spots] to our annual permits.”
According to Kendig, most annual student permits cost between $275 and $300.
“If these buildings were not providing for these parking spaces through this policy, then our permit prices would be considerably higher,” he said.
He pointed to UNC-Chapel Hill’s student parking situation, noting that while their prices are comparable to N.C. State’s, between $277 and $365, spaces are much more limited and students are awarded spots in a lottery system.
The construction of the FYC building displaced 51 parking spaces, therefore those parking spots must be replaced, along with 32 additional spaces, according to the square footage requirement. This puts the total requirement of new parking spaces catalyzed by the FYC construction at 83 spots.
According to Kendig, the FYC department, along with other tennants in the new building, will provide funding toward the 32 parking spaces in the new Lee Residence Hall lot that is under construction. As for the additional 51 spaces, the same contributors will provide funds that go toward a new parking deck in the west lot.
Twelve of the 32 new spaces in the Lee Residence Hall lot will be reserved for service vehicles. The SV spaces from the existing Lee Residence Hall lot, which is adjacent to the new lot, will be consolidated in the new lot. The other 20 spots in the new Lee Residence Hall lot will be C zone parking spaces for staff members, according to Kendig.
The displaced parking due to construction is resulting in less parking in the DE zone, shifting the parking to more DW spots. According to Kendig, the DE zone had about 600 spaces last year and about 540 spaces this year. The DW zone had 718 spaces last year and 729 this year.
“It’s not an apples to apples replacement,” Kendig said. “That certainly is a concern. We were not able to sell as many permits in the DE zone as we were last year. Next year, as some of those construction projects are completed, we hope to be able to increase those sales again.”
Students who park in the DE zone said they have trouble finding convenient parking spaces as it is.
“I always find one, but it is always so far away [from my residence hall],” Emma Buchanan, a sophomore in animal science, said. According to MacNaughton, the construction of the new Lee Residence Hall lot started at the beginning of the fall semester and is projected to be finished in the middle of November.