Some 105 parking spaces were recently displaced at John Muir College Parking Lot 207 and 116 “”S”” spaces were converted to “”B”” spaces in Lot 208 during winter break to make way for the construction of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy Center II, which is being transferred from its present location near the Gilman Parking Structure.
Guardian
When construction began in December 2002, several staff “”B”” spaces in Lot 207 were removed. To replace those lost spaces, student “”S”” parking spots in Lot 208 were converted to staff spaces. In addition, during the construction phase of the NMR Imaging and Spectroscopy Center, 49 more parking spaces will be unavailable for permit holders in Lot 207.
“”I’ve been at 208 at 7:30 a.m., and it’s always filled,”” commuter and Revelle College junior Iliana Angulo said of the converted parking spaces. “”I can only imagine that it’s going to be even harder now since they changed some spaces from ‘S’ to ‘B.'””
The 116 spaces that were changed in Lot 208 represent a total net loss of student spaces since October 2002 in the campus parking system. As of this year, there are 6,905 “”S”” spaces on campus.
According to the Transportation and Parking Services Office fall 2002 survey, approximately 990 “”S”” spaces go unused during the peak occupancy on average at 1 p.m. daily.
According to a fall 2002 overnight survey by the Transportation and Parking Services Office on Lot 208, on-campus Muir residents should have adequate parking spaces for their needs. The survey results show that approximately 150 “”S”” parking spaces were available between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.
“”Based upon these numbers, we anticipate that Muir resident students will be able to find sufficient parking in this lot in the evenings,”” Director of Transportation and Parking Services Greg Snee said. “”However, due to the present construction, commuting ‘S’ permit holders will be displaced to other parking lots.””
But according to the survey, parking lots near Muir, such as the Thurgood Marshall College lot, showed that “”S”” spaces are already 100 percent occupied during peak hours. Other constructions that affect student parking include three projects in the Earl Warren College area. Currently, Lot 503 does not have sufficient student parking spaces in the evenings for Warren residents.
However, the campus is currently in its design phase for a third parking structure to be sited at the northwest corner of Hopkins Drive and Voight Lane. Construction is set to begin in summer 2003 and should create approximately 1,140 parking spaces. Construction should be completed by fall 2004. A fourth parking structure is also in its planning stages, in a location that is yet to be decided.
The NMR Imaging and Spectroscopy Center II will be used for research in developing methods for NMR imaging of peptides and proteins, protein structure determination and other studies in structural genomics.
The entire project amounts to a total of $1.1 million, according to Assistant Dean Division of Physical Sciences Barbara Seipel, which includes costs in replacing parking spaces and creating an air-supported structure about twice its original size. The air bubble is contracted by an outside vendor.
Additionally, construction costs are comprised of clearing the site for the structure, concrete, fences and other materials. Funding for the project comes from a combination of local sources, such as the Academic Affairs Office and the Division of Physical Sciences.
The existing site is expected to be cleared by mid-March, and the new NMR Imaging and Spectroscopy Center should be in place by the end of April this year.
