Starting in fall 2011, the University’s high commuter population will have another place to park on campus – the West Deck.
Currently under construction in the existing West Lot, the new West Deck will add approximately 850 parking spaces of availability. The spaces will be available to commuter students with at least 30 credit hours, according to Christine Klein, public communications specialist for transportation.
Klein said that it made sense for transportation to build this deck at this time.
“This area was one of the last undeveloped areas [on campus] and due to economic conditions, it was a very cost-effective to build,” Klein said.
The project began in November 2007, and the construction has been moving along as scheduled, according to Klein.
“The general contractor, Donley’s, has done a great job managing the construction timetable,” Klein said. “When they have fallen behind due to weather conditions, they’ve managed to make the time up.”
According to Klein, the financial scope of the entire project – which also included upgrading of the intersection of Varsity Drive and Western Boulevard and widening Varsity drive – was $14.5 million. The Office of Transportation contributed about $8 million to the effort.
“Because of the economic downturn, construction costs were considerably less than the original cost proposal and the deck was able to be constructed realizing a $3 million savings,” Klein said.
The deck has been constructed as a pre-cast deck, and the pre-cast portions of the deck were made at a concrete pre-cast facility located in Greenville, SC, according to Klein.
The problem of parking on a campus of over 30,000 students – the majority of which are commuter students – is always a challenge, according to Klein.
“Technically there is never going to be enough parking for everyone to park in their first choice location,” Klein said. “However, compared to other peer institutions, we offer considerably more parking opportunities for both students and staff.”
Klein said that the new deck will give more flexibility to students who may not have credit-hour requirements to park in other decks.
“Sophomores and juniors who would not have been offered Coliseum Deck permits will have the opportunity to purchase a West Deck permit,” Klein said.
Benton Riordan, junior in chemical engineering, said that he thinks the new parking deck shows that the University is moving in the right direction.
“The new spots that the deck will add are going to make it a lot easier for underclassmen who would otherwise have to park in the Varsity lot or somewhere farther away [from main campus],” Riordan said. “The University is spending money where it should: on the students.”
