Parking lots on campus will face a variety of closures and changes across the rest of the spring semester.
Lot 19B will be closing permanently, lots 1A and 6A will be converted to faculty-staff gated lots and some of faculty-staff ungated lot 15C will be fenced off.
Lot 19B
At the end of the spring semester, lot 19B will be permanently closed. The lot is currently one of three lots that make up Zone C and is located between the Law Center and University Lofts. After it’s closed, construction will start on the Law Center’s new building, which will be located where 19B is now.
Lots 1A and 6A
Over the summer, faculty-staff ungated lots 1A and 6A will be converted to faculty-staff gated lots. Both of these lots are on the south side of campus, and Parking Services and Transportation Services said they tend to fill up quickly.
“By converting them to gated parking, it will provide faculty and staff the opportunity to choose a parking option that provides them easier access to available parking when they arrive to work in the mornings,” said Bob Browand in a Parking and Transportation Services blog post.
Since the lots are currently ungated, anyone with a valid UH parking permit can use these two lots after 3 p.m. Monday-Thursday, as well as all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The change to gated lots will make the areas accessible to only faculty and staff with a permit to park in them.
Lot 15G
Parking and Transportation services are in the process of removing the gates at lot 15G and installing a meter for visitors to use after they park. The area is a gated visitor lot that also includes some reserved faculty-staff spaces and is located in front of the Athletics/Alumni Center.
The project is expected to be complete by the end of March. Currently, visitors take a ticket upon entering and then pay the amount owed when leaving.
Parking and Transportation Services said they considered several factors when deciding to make the change.
“Since that lot is often used for events taking place at the Fertitta Center, the Alumni Center and TDECU Stadium, removing the gates makes it easier to use that lot for special event parking,” Browand said in the blog post.
The change also aims to prevent drivers from leaving without paying, since some tailgate other vehicles ahead of them through the exit.
Lot 15C
Across the next few weeks, a section of faculty-staff ungated lot 15C will be fenced off and used to hold construction equipment and materials for a renovation project at Melcher Gymnasium and Susanna Garrison Gymnasium. After this change, access to the lot will be reduced to the entrance nearest to Fertitta Center and is expected to remain this way until January 2021.