April 4, 2005
Members Present: Don Batson, Paul Bixby, Herb Cihak, Ralph Davis, Steve Gahagans, Reggie Houser, Rebecca Luebker and Gary Smith. Also present was Elaine Quinn, acting secretary.
A motion was made to approve the minutes of the February 4th meeting. It was seconded and passed.
Report on Current Parking Status from Gary Smith:
1. Lot 63, south of Fulbright Dining Hall, closed Friday for demolition of the building. The original plan was to build a 66 space parking lot. Normally a campus parking lot costs about $2500 a space. The estimate for the Fulbright lot is about $5000 a space. Also Housing is considering expanding the NW Quad into this area in the next few years. Currently, we do not plan to build a parking lot on the Fulbright Dining Hall site.
2. Usually $250,000 is budgeted for summer maintenance, but so far four parking areas are estimated to cost a total of $330,000 for maintenance. Lot 42 will be resurfaced this summer with a new sidewalk from Reid to POSC. Jay has a plan to enlarge lot 37 by expanding into the hillside to the west and gaining about 70 spaces. We are waiting to see what the transportation study suggests about the location of a visitor center in that area.
3. Around April 25 another 550 spaces will open in the HAPF. The two pay-on-foot stations have been installed on level 6. Harmon Avenue will open then and the new parking office space will also be ready. The gates and the server still need to be installed before hourly parking can be provided. It will probably be July before the two level 1 pay-on-foot stations will be installed and the entire garage opens. Teaching and Faculty Support will open later in the semester and the Bookstore area will open in July. The Bookstore plans to provide dry cleaning, oil changes and food venues. Ralph Davis commented that those currently parking on the first level have no good way to walk east toward campus.
4. Buchanan Street closed sooner than expected.
5. Parking is working on a zoned parking plan to take effect fall 2006.
6. Lot 67 has been signed. The meter spaces were increased by two rows, an additional 24 spaces.
7. FTA will audit transit's Drug and Alcohol program later this month.
8. Razorback Transit has also been selected for a triennial review in June.
9. Lot 56 Express will change once Harmon opens. The plan is it will stop at Harmon Avenue Parking Facility, on Dickson Street by Bell Engineering, then Duncan near HAPF and back to lot 56.
Old Business:
1. Discussion on the On and Off Campus designations continued. Gary said Dr. Geren recently recommended that teaching assistants be granted Faculty/Staff parking privileges. The committee felt allowing Graduate Assistants to purchase Faculty/Staff permits would increase the load on the Faculty/Staff lots and that it was also difficult identifying Graduate Assistant's status throughout the year. There was also the fact that Dr. Geren's main concern in the beginning was the increase in cost of student permits that Graduate Assistant's purchase. Faculty/Staff permits are even higher in price than the suggested increase in student permits. The committee decided to take no action on the request at this time.
2. Reggie suggested that the color of the Resident Reserved signs be changed to something other than blue to avoid confusion.
New Business:
1. The Razorback Foundation has requested the use of lots 7, 8 and 9 for football scholarship parking. Home Ec does use the lot for its Homecoming festivities. It was recommended that Gary check with Deans, Department Heads and Building Executives to make sure we are not displacing anyone. The item has been tabled until the next meeting.
The next meeting is April 28. Lot designation changes will be discussed.
The meeting was adjourned.