Parking garage construction to begin this summer

The Highland Dining Hall is set to be demolished this summer to make way for LSU’s first parking garage.

The project officially started after Chancellor Sean O’ Keefe approved recommendations in 2005, said Director of Parking, Traffic and Transportation Gary Graham. The Board of Supervisors approved the rough design draft in December 2009.

The building is now in the design and development phase, Graham said. Construction plans are being detailed, and contractors will soon place bids.

The garage should be completed in spring 2012, Graham said. The project will cost an estimated $25 million.

The renovation of the Pentagon Dining Hall forced Highland to remain open as a dining alternative. Issues with the architect and high interests in the bond market caused the delay of the project.

The five-story facility will consist of a bookstore, a women’s center, an African American culture center and a garage space for nearly 750 vehicles. Visitors will park in the ground floor, while faculty and students will park in the upper floors.

“The garage will help quite a bit with the Union, and students on the east side of campus and alleviate a lot of the problems of the visitors,” Graham said.

Biology senior Hannah Gladden said the parking situation at the University could use improvement. Other students echoed that sentiment.

“If you don’t park at 7:30 in the morning, you’re screwed. It takes nearly 20 minutes to walk to class,” said computer science senior Michael Thomas.

Gladden said the garage will benefit students, especially because of its central location on campus. She said streets should be widened, as the garage could cause traffic congestion.

The parking garage is one of the eight proposed parking projects on campus. The Highland construction  will be complicated and time-consuming because it is a multi-purpose facility, Graham said.

Two of the other parking projects will be near the Residential College and the soon-to-be-demolished Alex Box stadium, according to Graham.

The construction of the garage was part of the Parking and Transportation Master Plan to upgrade University parking facilities for students.

Visitors will have to pay for parking, and the revenue raised will pay off the bonds, Graham said.

During construction, the Highland dining hall block will be cordoned off but shouldn’t cause campus residents inconvenience, Graham said.

“We try to maintain a good working relation with the residents,” he said.



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Contact Sumit Kumar at skumar@lsureveille.com

6 comments

Anonymous

Sun Feb 21 2010 16:48

It's time for a parking garage!

Anonymous

Sun Feb 21 2010 08:39

Traffic is bad on campus, we all know that . But an improved shuttle service is the answer. As in other places where shuttle service is available, we know that this can work. This parking garage will not resolve the traffic problem of the LSU area. A garage should not be built within the Historic Campus is protected by the Master Plan. I am not even sure that it is legal in this location. Yet the Master Plan, created to protect the LSU Historic Campus, has somehow been 'forgotten' , because there is money to be made.

Anonymous

Wed Feb 10 2010 14:59

I'd like to see more parking decks...provided they are either hidden or architecturally integrated into the campus fabric....and they eliminate the need for unsightly surface parking lots.

Less surface parking in the core of campus...including parking for faculty and staff...helps with pedestrian safety. While they are at it, they can remove all of Facility Services crap out to River Road! They take up prime real estate just south of the Quad that could be used for classrooms, parking, and recreational space. It's non essential to the campus core and it needs to go.

I realize the budget crunch is causing problems on campus....but if they can finance these projects with bonds like this, then we need to start building way more of them while it's still cheap to borrow.

Anonymous

Wed Feb 10 2010 04:11

I completely agree with you on the location being terrible. And that people shouldn't mind walking twenty minutes. I do it everyday, and I'm perfectly fine, especially considering the health benefits of walking and getting fresh air. But really, building it where the Highland Dining hall is? Who thought that was even remotely a good idea?

Anonymous

Tue Feb 9 2010 18:07

About freaking time. This is easily a decade overdue.

Anonymous

Tue Feb 9 2010 10:10

Obviously the author has never set foot on the location discussed in this article. First of all, why are you saying "a women's center and an African American culture center" ? Don't you mean THE Women's Center and THE African American Cultural Center ? These centers already exist and are currently housed in two of the building that will be demoloshed to make way for the garage. Secondly, I don't how how anyone thinks that adding more parking (that is, more cars) to the very epicenter of campus is a good idea. Have you ever been over here when University High lets out? Traffic simply does not move. People get backed up through the four way stop at Raphael Semmes and East Campus Drive in all directions. The traffic trying to turn onto Highland also frequenlty gets backed up all the way down the street. Then add Law School traffic, people going to the post office, students coming in and out of the East Campus Apartments etc. The only way to alleviate this would be to widen the streets / eliminate street parking in this area, but I doubt that will happen, So basically, this block will turn into a black hole of non-moving traffic that I will be sure to avoid in the future at any cost. Luckily for me, I know how to WALK!! This campus needs fewer cars, not more parking!! Worst. Idea. Ever.

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