The closure of the Shaw Lane ramp has Katie Brooks “brown bagging” her lunch this semester, along with some of her colleagues in the chemistry department.
The ramp - where the majority of the chemistry faculty parks - closed Monday for reconstruction and demolition, taking away its 950 parking spots. The new ramp will have 200 more spots available, but won’t reopen until fall 2002.
“Fortunately today I was dropped off at work,” said Brooks, a secretary in the chemistry department. “I will have to park further away, and that means I will have to eat lunches in the building.”
MSU has plans to add 1,750 more parking spots to the current 24,000 available campuswide, said Jeff Kacos, director of MSU Campus Park and Planning.
“Parking will be most challenging this current semester,” Kacos said. “When people return in the fall we are increasing capacity by 800 spaces at the commuter lot. That should increase capacity.”
Nancy Lavrik, an organic chemistry secretary, said despite her luck finding a spot Monday, running lunchtime errands will also be difficult.
“I was worried about finding a spot, but it turned out to be not such a problem today,” Lavrik said. “Some days will be lucky, and some days not.
While the closing of the Shaw Lane ramp will inconvenience some MSU faculty, the ramp behind the Communication Arts and Sciences Building - south of Wilson Road - opened Monday offering some relief for frustrated drivers from south campus.
“From a planning perspective, I think parking will actually be no more difficult than it has been for the last year,” Kacos said. “Those inconvenienced will be different however.
To save faculty that parked at the Shaw Lane ramp from long walks, the Capital Area Transportation Authority might be offering an easier alternative.
Debbie Alexander, director of strategic management for CATA, said there will be busses every six minutes from the new ramp. The “campus cruiser” route covers 70 to 80 percent of the business and academic locations on campus, she said.
“We hope people who park in the ramp will find the transit system very convenient,” Alexander said.
While faculty that work near the closed Shaw Lane ramp could be inconvenienced, employees at the Communication Arts and Sciences Building no longer have to sweat out parking options.
“Before (the ramp opened) there were so many obstacles to park,” said Nancy Ashley, secretary to the associate dean for graduate studies in Communication Arts and Sciences. “We didn’t know where the sidewalk was going to be.
“Starting (today) I will park there.”
Rachel Wright can be reached at wrightr9@msu.edu.
