Students Impatient About Structure

By Manuel Carrillo III

Sept. 21, 2006 has come and gone. November of 2006 belongs to
history. Those were the dates that Cal Poly’s six-story parking
structure was to be opened. Now in 2007, students are still waiting
on a $37.6 million parking structure and a completion date.

“It felt like the Christmas present you had wished for, but
never got,” said Greg Matejcek, a fourth-year philosophy
student.

The winter break has not brought any updated information about
the new structure. The publicized progress of the parking structure
is stuck at 89 percent. The Facilities Planning and Management Web
site has not updated any information regarding the structure’s
completion date or its percentage of completion.

Senior Project Manager Adele Vanarsdale was unavailable for
comment.

Numerous issues initially held back the parking structure’s
completion date of Sept. 21.

“The most significant includes the redesign of the elevator to
meet state requirements, while also maintaining a transparent
elevator to enhance student safety,” said Vanarsdale in a previous
article.

The construction team also had to redesign the building’s drain
system. No word on its progress.

“I hope this parking structure is worth the wait,” said Joey
Browning, a fourth-year management and human resources student.
“Students paying these high parking fees are going to be graduating
long before this thing ever opens.”

The question now is whether or not the new building will even
open this school year.

“After it opens, I probably won’t use it,” said Natalie Moore, a
second-year civil engineering student. “None of my classes are near
the F lots, so any construction delays don’t bother me.”

But as construction continues, students that would have normally
parked in the F lots are now using J, M and B, and that impacts
everyone.

After the project’s completion, an additional 2,438 spaces will
be available to students.

For safety, each level of the structure will contain security
cameras, blue-light emergency phones and immediate access out of
the facility. It will also provide accessible parking for disabled
students on the second level.

In the meantime, what would have been parking lot F is a major
construction site that is forcing students to crowd up other
parking lots on campus, meaning there are still rough times ahead
for Cal Poly commuters.

Manuel Carrillo III can be reached by e-mail at
news@thepolypost.com or by phone at (909) 869-3747.

Students Impatient About Structure