94-04-09 Outlook for Parking at U.Va. Brightens as New Garage Plans Opening

OUTLOOK FOR PARKING AT U.VA. BRIGHTENS
AS NEW GARAGE PLANS OPENING
     CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., April 9 -- "Thomas Jefferson was a great
architect, but he didn't know a thing about parking," jokes Albert
Whalley, University of Virginia's director of parking and
transportation.
     Whalley faces the continual challenge of fitting cars on a
campus planned for horses.  Help will come this summer when the new
Emmet Street parking garage opens, offering 400 public parking
spaces near Central Grounds.
     Replacing the 140-space Memorial Gymnasium parking lot, the
new garage will accommodate short-term parking needs of visitors,
staff and students.  The garage will be open 24 hours a day, seven
days a week with hourly rates and validated parking to insure high
turnover and accessibility, Whalley said.
     He believes the garage, with prominent lighting and the open
design of stairwells and elevators enhancing security, will provide
a safe entrance to the Grounds.
     Whalley observed that the new garage, while reflecting the
historical atmosphere of Central Grounds, will be a "hub of
activity."  A bookstore will open soon after the garage is
complete, and University police will open a central monitoring
station in the facility.
     According to Whalley, the garage's new spaces will allow
reassignment of parking throughout Central Grounds to cope with
handicapped, service and other permit needs in time for the new
academic year.
     He added that in the battle for parking, the department looks
for "spaces of opportunity" and attempts to maintain as much
existing parking as possible, even during periods of construction.
                               ###
                                                    April 8, 1994
     FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Albert Whalley at (804) 924-
7233.

Karen A. Castle
University News Office
kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu
(804) 924-7116


[Submitted by: Karen A. Castle  (kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu)
               Tue, 12 Apr 94 09:17:37 EDT]