The new lot 18 parking garage officially opened its doors Oct. 17, according to Darryl Boyce, vice-president (facilities and management planning).
The new facility will add 615 parking spots for students and faculty on campus.
Boyce said the cost of the building was just under the set $34-million budget. The original budget was $25 million but was increased in November of last year due to unanticipated construction problems.
The projected opening date for the new lot was Aug. 31, but Boyce said finishing touches on the building required opening to be delayed.
“There were a few extra things we had to do in terms of some heat tracing on some drain lines,” Boyce said. “Finishes to the concrete surfaces bellow the deck in the area near the light rail line also had to be done.”
Matt McEathron, a student safety patroller, said the cost of a parking permit in the new lot is $357 per year, per student. The garage is also open for day parking similar to the pay-and-display system.
“If you want to park, you put your license number into the machine and how much time you want to park for, and then pay by single use,” Boyce said. “It’s slightly different than pay and display but it’s basically the same.”
Boyce said the parking garage is part of the campus master plan, in which some existing parking lots will be used as space for new spaces on campus, including the planned residence building.
“Even if the users of the parking lot are on the low-end today, when we build the new residence and take away parking, it will increase,” he said. “It’s really a strategic investment in terms of parking for the university that allows us to utilize existing lots to build new facilities to continue to develop the site.”
The Campus Master Plan, according to Boyce, is structured to provide a more pedestrian friendly place where more of the vehicles would be parked on the outskirts of campus.
Boyce added the structure is built to support three more floors, where 615 more parking spots could be added. “The next expansion that we would have to do would be to build on top of this parking garage.”
Connor Neumann, a second-year neuroscience student, said the addition of the new parking garage is good, but he will probably not be using it since it’s further away from the centre of campus.
“It would suck walking outside further everyday during the -30 degree winters to get to class.”
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