Heavy rain and flooding around the University hindered the final construction of the new parking garage, causing the opening date to be pushed back once more.
After its scheduled Monday opening was pushed back due to weather conditions, Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation Director Gary Graham said the garage will not be opened until the elevators are inspected, which should be completed this morning.
If the elevators are working, the garage will open Saturday.
Other final touches, like fencing and landscaping, are also being held up by the rain, Graham said.
Facility Services Planning, Design and Construction Director Roger Husser said he anticipates construction to be completed in the next week.
The $22.5 million parking garage, originally set to open during the Spring 2012 semester, has been continuously pushed back each month throughout the year, Graham told The Daily Reveille in November.
Once open, the 750-spot garage will consist of 90 spaces for faculty and staff, 200 spaces for students and 460 spaces of metered parking.
Graham said student parking permits for the garage cost $330, compared to the $165 students pay for resident, Greek and commuter passes.
“That’s a lot to pay for parking equally as close to the overflow lot at the UREC,” said Trevor Johnson, a psychology junior living in East Campus Apartments.
Johnson said he was disappointed when he received an email regarding parking permits because he thought the garage would be open to anyone to park wherever they wanted.
“I’ve driven around for 20 minutes looking for a spot,” Johnson said. “Maybe if it got to that point again when the garage is open, I would pay for a metered spot, but probably not.”
However, Johnson said he hopes the garage will alleviate some of the parking congestion around ECA.
“I’m hoping people buy the new parking passes, and it opens up 100 spots around the area closer to ECA, but I haven’t talked to anyone who bought the spots,” Johnson said.
So far, 65 student parking permits for the garage have been sold.
The passes are currently only available to on-campus residents and law school students, but Graham said permits may be opened up to students wishing to purchase commuter passes based on how permit sales go in the coming weeks.
Graham said he expects the garage to raise $1.2 million in revenue, with most of that money coming from the visitor parking in order to pay back the bond used to build the garage.
In terms of safety, the garage will be equipped inside and out with a total of 47 security cameras, including cameras in the elevators. The garage will also have security guards on patrol from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, Graham said.
LSU Police Department Spokesman Capt. Cory Lalonde said the police department is not going to have anyone directly assigned to patrolling the garage, but said there will be frequent patrols of the area.
“We will concentrate with mountain bike and motorcycle officers because it will be easier for them to maneuver in and out of the garage,” Lalonde said. “Other officers will still patrol the area 24/7, just like we patrol all the other areas of campus.”
