SRU adding additional parking spots
Slippery Rock University started construction Feb. 4 on two gravel parking lots, one near the Alumni Pavilion and one at Wally Rose Field. The two lots will add a combined 76 parking spots.
Feb. 8, 2019
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Parking relief is on the way for Slippery Rock University students, faculty and staff. The University's Facilities and Planning Department received the green light to start a project to add a combined 76 parking spots at two locations on campus. Construction began Feb. 4 on gravel lots located at Wally Rose Field, near the Art Sculpture Building at the end of Maltby Avenue, and near the Alumni Association Picnic Pavilion along Stadium Road between North Road and Harmony Road.
According to Scott Albert, assistant vice president of facilities, planning and environmental safety, the 38 spots at each location are expected to be ready by the end of March.
"Students have expressed concerns about having enough parking on campus and this was the quickest way we could provide some relief," said Albert, who consulted with SRU President William Behre and Amir Mohammadi, vice president for finance, administrative services and advancement services. "We started the process in September, but it takes time to work through the design and permitting issues."
Because formal parking lots with gravel are considered an impervious surface, storm-water retention and permitting through the township had to be addressed. As part of the project, bioretention rain gardens, which look like small ponds, will be installed next to the lots.
"The actual construction of the parking lots is not what takes the most time because you're basically leveling the site, putting gravel down and compacting it," said Albert, who noted that paving the lots would not be possible during the winter months as it would require additional land development permitting, which would delay installing the lots by as much as six months.
"This is something short-term that we came up with to provide some additional overflow parking until we can start implementing some of the parking recommendations from the master plan over the next several years," Albert said.
Beyond the 76 spots, the earliest any other additional parking projects could be implemented, according to Albert, is the summer of 2020. While the gravel lots at Wally Rose Field and the Alumni Pavilion are a temporary fix, those locations may be considered for conversion to permanent, paved lots in the future.
Once the new parking lots open, they will be available to anyone with a University parking permit: commuter, resident or staff.
For more information about parking at SRU, click here.
MEDIA CONTACT: Justin Zackal | 724.738.4854 | justin.zackal@sru.edu