Emory Report

September 8, 1998

Volume 51, No. 3

Emory West parking plan delayed Not so fast. Emory's plan to establish a remote parking lot at the Georgia Mental Health Institute property has been put on hold until the University's purchase of the acreage is officially closed. Emory's parking office had announced plans to assign students and employee volunteers to the Emory West property beginning Sept. 1. But counsel for the University decided it would be unwise to use the property in any official way until all steps of the purchase process have been completed. "We got a little ahead of ourselves," said Curt Carlson, associate vice president for Public Affairs. "We were premature in our announcement because we need to wait to close on the property." Carlson added it is not clear exactly when that will occur and that it could be weeks or longer. In the meantime, the parking office is redirecting students assigned to Emory West to park in the Michael Street and Peavine decks. They are still being charged $42 for the year, the same price they would have had to pay for Emory West parking and a $200 savings over normal on-campus student parkers. "We've just had to go back and implement our plans like we didn't have the GMHI lot," said Bill Collier, director of parking. "So far, it's working out. We're out in force at every deck, helping people find parking spaces. We're full, but we're trying to balance out the decks, and that usually takes a couple of weeks." Because of the crunch in parking--Collier's office figured it would fall some 162 spaces short of what it would need this fall to accommodate all the registered vehicles--he recommended staff assigned to Michael Street and Peavine decks get to work early. If not, a space could be hard to come by. Collier added, however, that when the University does close on the Emory West property, the remote parking plan is scheduled to go into effect as planned. --Michael Terrazas Return to Sept. 8, 1998, contents page