LSU students are irritated with what seems to be a lack of available space in the UREC and Greek parking lots — not to mention looming brown clouds brought on by UREC construction.
Director of University Recreation Laurie Braden said dust in the area is a by-product of the limestone used to cover up potholes in the roads. She said it is not harmful to vehicles.
“It will be [present] throughout construction.” Braden said. “We do have the roads and the parking lot to be addressed at the end of the project.”
The UREC added 363 additional parking spaces in phase II of construction, completed in August 2014, but the new spaces designated for UREC attendees are also being used by Greek students with UREC permission, Braden said. She said the parking areas in the front and the back of the UREC that are blocked off will open at the end of the project.
Because both UREC attendees and Greek students use the parking lot, it seems often seems crowded Braden said.
Braden said addressing parking in the middle of construction is ideal but it causes problems in the construction process due to heavy traffic.
Textiles, apparel and merchandising junior Mattison Conditt, a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, parks in the Greek parking lot, zone two, weekly. She said as a result of the construction she can’t keep her car clean and can not park as close to the sorority house as she would like to.
“The spots are already so limited and so hard to get to,” Conditt said. “I have to usually walk even further than I used to, which is like half a mile, I kid you not.”
Conditt said the parking lot is a disaster and she worries her car may be damaged if she parks too close to the work site.
Braden said she hopes students remember the dust and lack of parking spots are temporary conditions of construction and the situation will get better.
Kinesiology junior and Facility Supervisor at the UREC Taylor Hill said UREC employees also experience the negative effects UREC construction has on parking.
“I got a car wash a couple weeks ago and the very next day it was completely covered in dust,” Hill said, “It was kind of frustrating.”
However, Hill said a fleetingly dirty car is a sacrifice she is willing to make while the UREC project comes to fruition. She said she is most excited for the implementation of the new multi-functional courts.
“I park there everyday as well,” Braden said, “but the temporary nature of the dust in my experience outweighs the potholes.”
UREC construction is projected to be complete in the spring of 2016.
Students frustrated by Greek and UREC parking, dust in lots
October 19, 2015
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