Media Contact: Maryann Callery, (858) 534-9763, or Jan Jennings, (858) 822-1684

Major construction of three new campus parking facilities begins this summer. These facilities include a 1,552-space surface parking lot just west of Regents Road, a 870-space parking structure on Gilman Drive, and a 970-space parking structure on North Torrey Pines Road. The surface lot is scheduled to open in Fall, 1999, and the two structures are scheduled to open in Fall, 2000.

Quarterly updates on the construction status of the projects will be provided by Transportation and Parking Services through Fall, 2000. These will be available via the internet at parking.ucsd.edu and at department offices.

Construction of the first phase of the Regents Road Parking Lot begins in mid-June, 1999. Approximately 700 to 800 parking spaces will be available by Sept. 27, 1999, for use beginning Fall Quarter. A new shuttle service will connect the lot with the center of campus.

Due to the construction of the Regents Road Parking Lot, it is anticipated that Voigt Drive, between Campus Point Drive and Regents Road, will be closed to traffic during the month of July, 1999.

The North Torrey Pines Road Parking Structure will be located between the northern boundary of Thurgood Marshall College and the southern boundary of the future site of Eleanor Roosevelt College. Currently, surface Parking Lot 305 is located on this site. The structure will encompass approximately 351,000 gross square feet on five and one-half levels.

Due to construction of the North Torrey Pines Road Parking Structure, it is anticipated that Scholars Drive North, between Thurgood Marshall Lane and the entrance to Parking Lot 306, will be closed to traffic during the month of August, 1999.

Additionally, approximately 600 parking spaces in the southern portion of Parking Lot 305 will be eliminated beginning in mid-July, 1999, due to North Torrey Pines Road Parking Structure construction. To help offset this loss, construction will begin in August, 1999, on the development of 450 temporary parking spaces located in the North Campus. These temporary spaces will be available for use by Sept. 27, 1999.

The Gilman Drive Parking Structure will be located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Gilman Drive and Russell Lane where the PPS Shops, the Central Garage and a portion of Parking Lot 406 are currently located. The 278,700 gross-square-foot structure will include 8,100 square feet of storefront space on its ground level where the University & State Employees Credit Union and Transportation and Parking Services will relocate.

Demolition of the PPS Shops and the Central Garage to accommodate the Gilman Drive Parking Structure will begin in early July, 1999. No major loss of parking spaces is anticipated until early August, 1999, when approximately 45 spaces in the western portion of Parking Lot 406 will be eliminated.

Underground utility work to replace existing overhead power and telecommunication lines is currently underway in the Gilman Drive Parking Structure area. Trenching in proximity to the Eleanor Roosevelt College dormitories is scheduled to begin after June 13 and will be completed by the end of August, 1999. It is anticipated that the traffic flow on Myers Drive and Russell Lane will be minimally impacted during construction. Safety barriers will be installed by the contractor for pedestrian traffic, as needed.

The new parking facilities will be funded in part by parking permit rate increases adopted for 1999/2000.

For further information, look for Construction Updates under the What’s New section of the parking.ucsd.edu web site, or call the construction hot line at (858) 534-0273.