HOUSTON, Texas, Aug. 26, 2011 – A bigger and better University of Houston campus will not come without some growing pains. Among the challenges of building new state-of-the-art facilities at UH is accommodating the parking needs of faculty, staff and students. To offset parking losses caused by ongoing construction projects, 650 parking spaces were added to the campus. UH parking permits are required to park at all of these lots. These spaces offset the loss of parking in Lot 15D due to construction on the Robertson Stadium Garage, scheduled to open in fall 2012. Additional spaces and temporary lots are at the following locations:

• Elgin Boulevard - Expansion of Lot 16D: A portion of the university’s intramural fields has been converted into additional parking spaces for Lot 16D. The fields will be restored following the completion of the stadium garage or alternate field space identified to replace in kind.
• Leek Street Lots (next to Lot 16E): Three lots have been added next to Lot 16E (near the McDonalds restaurant on Elgin Boulevard).  They are visible from Cullen Boulevard and can be accessed a block away on Leek Street.
• Calhoun Road - Bayou Oaks Lot: A temporary lot is located next to Bayou Oaks apartments on Calhoun Road. Shuttle service is available at this lot.

In addition to these added spaces, parking is available at UH's Energy Research Park, which is just south of the campus along the Gulf Freeway. Covered parking is available on a limited basis in this lot, and expanded shuttle service to the main campus is available.

With enrollment expected to increase for the 2011-12 academic year, UH Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) recently issued a parking forecast (http://www.uh.edu/pts/pdfs/2012ParkingForecast.pdf) for the upcoming semester. PTS projections indicate that campus parking will be at capacity between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. To help the UH community plan their trips to campus, a real-time parking map is available online at http://www.uh.edu/police/UHlotmap.html. It provides updates on which lots are filled to capacity and where spaces can be found.

"The university recognizes that there will be challenges to be faced during this period of growth," said Emily Messa, assistant vice president for university services. "We have spent the past year working to mitigate potential problems and develop parking solutions for the campus community. We also are working with the firm that is building the Stadium Garage to develop an aggressive construction schedule to expedite the project. We advise everyone to effectively plan their trips to campus to avoid delays."

Messa also advised the UH community to explore commuting alternatives. These options include carpooling, vanpooling and METRO bus routes. Information on these and other commuting strategies is available through the UH Commuter Club, a faculty and staff program designed to reduce peak hour commuter trips to the campus. The program also serves to reduce the emissions on campus and around the city by decreasing the number of vehicles on the road. To learn more about the UH Commuter Club, visit http://www.uh.edu/pts/CommuteClub/index.htm.

For more details on campus parking during the fall semester, visit UH's Parking and Transportation Plan site at http://www.uh.edu/pts/strategy.htm.

Mike Emery