January 26, 2006

Parking options presented

Northwestern officials solicited feedback this week at an open meeting on Evanston campus parking alternatives.

Ronald Nayler, associate vice president for facilities management, presented to students, faculty and staff 10 proposals for sites throughout campus. He highlighted three of the plans, one of which is already under construction, and two that are receiving strong consideration.

The new lot in progress will add approximately 200 spaces just east of the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion/Combe Tennis Center. Work will be completed this spring.

The other two proposals call for an underground garage at the Allen Center lot and a garage of as many as eight levels on a portion of the lot just west of the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion/Norris Aquatics Center.

Over the past year, a parking planning advisory committee examined current parking usage on the Evanston campus and reviewed options for increasing the number of parking spaces, said Eugene S. Sunshine, senior vice president for business and finance, who chaired the committee. Once the committee made its recommendations, the campus meeting was called as a final step in the exploratory phase, according to Sunshine.

“The meeting was helpful in that we were able to present these ideas and generate discussion on how to create safe, available parking,” he said. “In the coming months, we’ll consider all of the information we’ve gathered and make some decisions about how to proceed.”