There’s new hope for the upper-campus parking problem.
U administrators have come up with alternative parking options for hospital employees and other upper-campus staff, said Chrissy Daniels, hospital director of customer service.
“We need a bigger pie, not to split it into more pieces,” she said about parking space.
The construction of two health-science buildings on former parking lots has caused a parking shortage.
Routine resurfacing of some of the remaining parking areas has made the shortage worse, said David Moyes, construction coordinator for Commuter Services.
The situation has upset many employees and spurred complaints from those with A permits forced to park in U lots.
But officials from University Hospital, the administration and Commuter Services have come up with more options.
A new lot will be constructed behind the medical towers with about 150 spaces, Moyes said. Construction has not yet begun, but Commuter Services hopes it will be completed by December.
The parking lot was originally planned to be built at the same time as the Heritage Commons student housing complex, but funds ran out, Moyes said.
Parking services has not yet determined if it will be an A, U or E lot, said Ken Song, assistant supervisor of parking enforcement.
Until the parking problem eases, officials are encouraging employees to park in the Austin and Van Cott Hall lots below the hospital and south of the golf course.
The hospital has contracted shuttles from Commuter Services to drive people from the lot up the hill to the hospital.
One shuttle will run from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Another will join the first from 6 to 9 a.m. and again from 3 to 6 p.m. The shuttles will run every five minutes when there are two available, and every 10 minutes when there’s only one available, Song said.
The lot is open to any A, U or E permit holders, but the hospital and Commuter Services is encouraging employees to park there by offering a new O permit, Song said.
Employees can obtain O passes by trading in their A permits. Currently, money is deducted from employee salaries to pay for an A permit.
The O permit is free, but only allows the driver to park in the Van Cott Hall lot, Song said.
This arrangement will be available for at least a year, he said.
The third option administrators are encouraging is light rail.
The Medical Center TRAX Station will open Sept. 29.
Until now, employees were cautious about riding the train, since many start work before TRAX begins running.
Likewise, many get off work later than TRAX runs in the evening, Daniels said.
To allow employees to ride the train and still get to work on time, TRAX has agreed to begin running earlier and continue running later, she said.
The hospital also has arranged for the Black shuttle route to be extended to drive employees from the Medical Center station, near Primary Children’s Medical Center, up to U Hospital, Daniels said.