MTU has parking for everyone, and it's cheap if you're a commuting student or free if you're a resident or faculty or staff. When we expand Fisher Hall, the library, the MUB, and ME-EM, and add 1200-1500 students, parking will be anything BUT free and, for many, anything but convenient. Bill Blumhardt, director of facilities management, is the guest at Tech Tea Time on Wednesday, March 15, at 4:00 p.m. in the MTU Memorial Union Alumni Lounge.
"Our convenient parking lots on the main campus are full," says Blumhardt. "The demand for parking on the main campus continues to increase, and we've used up all the low cost options for convenient parking."
Blumhardt will discuss a recently completed campus plan update by Smith Group JJR and an analysis by university parking consultants Carl Walker Inc., which included a survey of the current situation, a forecast of future problems and several solutions-all controversial. Building a parking deck on the main campus, annual charges of $200 for parking at the SDC and $800 for main campus parking, and running a shuttle bus service between the lots and campus are among the solutions to present and future problems.
"We have added 800 spaces since 1990," says Blumhardt, who feels that this is about the limit in the current available space. Faculty and staff enjoy very convenient free parking, and commuters in non-metered lots pay only 13 cents per day. This may soon change. Plans for campus expansion, resulting in the loss of 400 parking spaces on the main campus, as well as increased enrollment mean that we have to take a hard look at the options.
The consultants' recommendations include implementing user fees immediately to create revenue for future parking expenses, building a parking deck to accommodate at least 600 spaces (preferably 800), greater use of the SDC lot, and provision of a shuttle bus service. The implementation of these recommendations would involve not only a considerable outlay in capital expenditures, but a major change in user habits and an adjustment to paid parking and use of a shuttle bus. Weighing the decision as to whether or not to build a parking deck against other less expensive and less convenient options is difficult. What is clear is that the Michigan Tech campus is changing and that in the future parking on and around campus will resemble that of an urban, rather than a rural campus.
This program is partially sponsored by the Michigan Tech Department of Facilities Management. Tech Tea Time is coordinated by the University Cultural Enrichment Department. For further information call 487-2844.
03/08/00-MTN254