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Parking woes in full swing

Contributing Writer

Published: Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Updated: Wednesday, September 8, 2010 17:09

Central Florida Future

Michelle Davis

Lauren Lavan lives less than three miles from campus in an apartment in The Lofts, and according to mapquest.com, the drive should take her about five minutes.

However, the junior finance major leaves about an hour before her class starts, not to grab a coffee or a snack, and not to meet up with a classmate to review for a quiz, but to find a parking spot.

It's no mystery that finding a parking spot at UCF might be a harder task than acing a biology test or getting a perfect score on an English paper, but construction on a new parking garage that students were hoping would soon be ready is running behind schedule.

"Construction is always behind schedule," Lavan said.

The construction of the new parking garage, which is being built between the Fairwinds Alumni Center and the Psychology building, was supposed to begin during the spring semester, but did not start until June.

The reason for the holdup, said Christine Dellert of UCF News & Information, was a delay in obtaining permits and finalizing contract details.

Garage J, as the new parking garage will be known, will have more than 1,400 parking spaces.

According to the UCF Parking Services website, there are 5,226 parking spaces available in the garages. With the completion of Garage J there will be more than 6,626 available parking spaces in the garages on the main campus. There will also be a parking light added on the east entrance and exit of the garage.

Although construction is expected to be complete in the spring of next year, Lavan and many of UCF's other 53,000-plus students continue to have a difficult time finding a parking spot without hassle.

"There are no spots, ever," said senior communications disorder major Aubrey Weaver. "In the summer, I could leave my apartment 10 minutes before class, and now I have to leave 30 minutes before."

Like Lavan, Weaver also questions the pace of construction on campus and why the parking garages were designed as they are.

"I don't know why they didn't make the parking garages taller to add more spots," Weaver said.

Though there are plenty of students, like Lavan and Weaver, who regularly experience issues in finding a parking space on campus, some students get lucky and know how to avoid the chaos and traffic into the garages.

Sophomore micro and molecular biology major Alex Serrao has developed a strategy for finding a parking spot at one of the largest schools in the nation.

"I don't have a problem," Serrao said. "I've got a trick. I pull up to a stairwell and wait for someone to come out. I always get a spot quickly."

Even though she does find herself having to leave for class an hour before it starts, Lavan is trying to keep her chin up about the situation.

To be on the positive side, she said, at least they're putting it up.

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11 comments

NikkiNicho
Fri Sep 17 2010 09:53
I'm with the ride a bike people. It is fun! You can even ride it to a shuttle and put it on the front of the shuttle if you feel you live too far. Also, most humorous: when people drive to campus and battle over parking spots to get to the gym and sit on a stationary bike... wth?
If you have questions about biking, or want to join the safer Bike Bus or critical mass, check out Spokes Council on facebook!
Anonymous
Thu Sep 16 2010 15:49
riding a bike sucks. it is hot as hell outside. and in the winter it is cold as hell outside. plus it's unsafe as hell to ride a bike on alafaya or university or colonial. have fun with that.
n27dx
Thu Sep 16 2010 14:33
She lives 3 miles from campus?? RIDE A BIKE!!! Parking on campus is a privilege! Try going to school at the University of Florida where the closest parking garage may be a bike or a shuttle ride to your class, and even then spoiled UCF students would probably still complain. Unbelievable.
Colin
Mon Sep 13 2010 14:38
It's so sad that people think in one dimension when it comes to transportation these days. People got from place to place without cars for hundreds of years and many of us still get around much more efficiently without cars. For example, the bicycle is a great option. No traffic to worry about and you can ride it right up the classroom instead of parking 1-2 miles away.
Sun
Fri Sep 10 2010 12:39
What a cry baby this Lauren and all students that whine about parking. Seriously? You live LESS THAN 3 MILES FROM CAMPUS and you need to DRIVE there? How I wish when I was a student at UCF living off campus we had the excellent shuttle service you all have now. Even the Alafaya Trail Blazer is a good bet! God forbid you break a sweat walking a little, or reduce your carbon footprint by not wasting an hours worth of fuel. Park on the outskirts and walk a little. It will keep you from getting lazy and fat.
Aaron Brand
Fri Sep 10 2010 10:09
If people really wanted to park and get to class then they could use the double-wide Garage A right off University. That garage, even at the busiest times of day (9-12:30) always has about 1 or 2 full levels open. But since most people would rather complain and force UCF to build excess garages instead of using the money for boosting actual programs at the school. God forbid someone actually has to WALK across campus to class. It's not like UCF's campus is the same as UM or USF, where walking would indicate one possessed the mind of an inmate at a looney bin. Our campus is designed to make everywhere only a 15 minute walk.
Anonymous
Thu Sep 9 2010 17:32
Meanwhile Parking Garage F never seems to have any parking issues at all, spots are always available, as are the two park and ride locations that are available on campus. Yes, it may require a little bit of a walk or shuttle ride, but it sure beats parking...
Anonymous
Thu Sep 9 2010 11:46
Alex Serrao's parking trick (waiting by the stairwell) is nothing new and it's also dangerous. When people sit there they block the lane so the cars behind them have no choice but to go around. If there is oncoming traffic, and sometimes it's hard to tell whether there is, the car that goes around risks running into it. It's aggravating for everyone else to have to worry about it.

As for Lauren Lavan, she could avoid a lot of the parking problems if she took the shuttle. It's not perfect, but IMO it's good enough and saves lots of frustration from lack of parking.

Anonymous
Wed Sep 8 2010 22:08
This is not news. Parking woes have been in full swing for years now. Parking can be found, it's just a matter of how much prior to class you are willing to arrive on campus to find a spot.
Anonymous
Wed Sep 8 2010 18:45
The Towers are taller than the Library.

Also, there is no rule about height, it is about safety, etc. More than 4 stories requires an elevator, more than 5 stories it becomes more difficult for safety to get fire personnel to the top. Orange County has an ordinance that buildings within unincorporated Orange County can not be higher than 10 stories.

It takes a long time to empty a garage if it gets too many levels. The garages will mostly be 4 levels with some near the Arena being 5 from here on out.

Anonymous
Wed Sep 8 2010 18:19
I've heard the reason the parking garages are the size they are is because there's an unofficial rule that no building on campus can be taller than the tallest building, which I believe to be the library). If this is true, I can think of nothing in the world more inane.






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