December 7, 2004
Members Present: Paul Bixby, Donnie Blagg, Phillip Brick, Herb Cihak, Ralph Davis, Donna Daniels, Craig Edmonston, Steve Gahagans, Reggie Houser, Jay Huneycutt, Rebecca Luebker, George Ngundue, Gary Smith, Julie Trivitt and Ross Yeatman. Also present were John Massey from the Health Center, Chris Branam from the Democrat/Gazette and Elaine Quinn, acting secretary.
Motion was made to approve the minutes of the October 19th meeting. It was seconded and passed.
No additional agenda items were added to the meeting.
Ross Yeatman is replacing Jewel Lindsey on the committee.
George Ngundue, representing Resident Interhall Congress, has also been officially been put on the committee.
Report on Current Parking Status from Gary Smith:
1. Harmon Avenue Garage status: 500 spaces will open the end of December, weather permitting. Entry will be by access cards only. An additional 500 spaces will open mid-April. The remainder of the spaces won't open until June because the northeast stairwell and elevator tower can't be completed until level nine of the garage has been poured. The precasting is currently going up on the sides and the steel for the two-story office building has also begun.
2. Terrace Manor: fencing will start today. Lot 68 F/S will close December 13 for demolition. Part of the lot will be regained after the demolition.
3. Utility Tunnel between lots 51 and 52: construction will begin in February or March.
4. Lot 48: by January 12 all of lot 48 Resident Reserved will be open. This will give zone 3 about 18 more spaces.
5. Construction over Christmas: the concrete pillars in the Garland Avenue Garage will be repaired.
Old Business:
1. Zone 1 parking issue: Paul has been receiving complaints from faculty and staff concerning empty Resident Reserved spaces in lot 41A. Reggie said not all of the Resident Reserved permits have been issued (total 673 spaces and 667 permits sold). As soon as the meters are installed in lot 37, 15 of the Resident Reserved zone 1 spaces will become metered spaces. The parking around the old Health Center has been changed to Resident Reserved Zone 1 for this year but may be changed to Faculty/Staff when the old Health Center becomes swing space for the campus. Fulbright Dining Hall will probably be demolished this summer and approximately 66 spaces will open in that area for faculty and staff parking. Gary said parking would check the Zone 1 Resident Reserved usage when classes resume and redesignate some of the spaces if they were not being used.
New Business
1. Lot 67: Craig Edmonston said after 5 pm the lot becomes a safety concern for anyone trying to get in or out of the lot. He suggested metering more of the Off Campus parking spaces and extending the hours to help with the congestion problem. Reggie made a motion to add more metered parking from the Off Campus section and extend the meter hours to 8 pm. Gary will have the student permits from lot 67 researched to see if the students who are living on campus would be interested in a zone 4A permit. The motion was seconded and passed.
2. Campus Transportation Study Update: Jay Huneycutt reported that the committee is about 20% into the study. Everyone should have received an email to complete the survey. So far 25% have responded to the survey. The study should be completed by August. The Campus Transportation study involves looking at the Harmon Avenue Garage to see what its impact will be on campus traffic, recommending the site for the next parking garage and how to fund it, and evaluating current bus routes, bike lanes, pedestrian paths and wayfinding for improvements.
Next week there are a couple of meetings with the Transportation Committee. The first meeting is on December 14 from 10:00 to 11:30. Members of the Transit, Parking and Traffic Committee and the Appeals Committee have been asked to attend for their input. A public hearing will be held at 1 to 3 p.m. in the Arkansas Union. Jay also said the committee is looking at alternative modes of transportation plus doing some geocoding to see where everyone is traveling from to get to campus. Traffic counts are being completed and a map of accidents on campus is being examined.
3. Health Center Bus Stop: John Massey from the new Pat Walker Health Center inquired about a bus stop that would be close to the facility. Originally the bus was going to stop at the cutout on Garland Avenue but because of the closeness to the intersection the bus cannot cut across the lanes and get in the left turn lane. The Reid Express may be able to enter lot 29 and then proceed around by Animal Science and lot 42 and then to Reid. Gary said he would review the options with the transit staff to see what could be done.
4. Meeting schedule: Paul will post possible dates on the listserve.
The meeting was adjourned.