It is no secret that parking here at Fairfield University causes headaches for everyone, from students to staff members. In an effort to solve this issue, the University has just recently completed construction on a new parking garage that sets out to alleviate the problem.
Because everything ran smoothly with construction and delivery of materials, the new garage was completed several months ahead of schedule and the building is now open for use.
The goal of the new parking garage is to lessen some of the overcrowding that takes place in the lot behind Alumni Hall, according to Associate Director of the Department of Public Safety Frank Ficko. Designated as a green zone, the lot is to be used by graduate students and off-campus students, such as seniors who live on the beach and commuters.
Ficko added that those students with green parking passes will be encouraged to park in the new garage, as they will face penalties if they are found to be parked in the lot behind Alumni Hall, which is a blue lot that is intended for Fairfield University staff only.
However, Fairfield students did express some concerns regarding the new parking garage. “I think it may be an issue because it might cause more traffic around an already pretty tight area,” said Katrina Wiesler ’19. Unfortunately, options on where to put the new building were limited due to the relatively small nature of Fairfield’s campus.
Ficko explained some of the details regarding the specifications on the new garage. “Coming in at three stories tall and with a total of 257 parking spaces, we are hoping that it will ease the parking issue on here on campus,” he said.
Sporting a sharp design that fits in nicely with the rest of Fairfield’s aesthetic, the parking garage is a welcome addition to Fairfield’s campus. Students expressed pleased opinions with the overall look of the building as Christopher Dinno ‘19 said, “I’ve never seen a parking garage that looked so modern, I think it’s a great design.”
The all new parking garage, however, is just one piece of the puzzle in Fairfield University’s Campus-Wide Master Plan, a plan that sets out to address the major issues on campus and improve student life for all of Fairfield’s students.
Other projects mentioned in the plan include the new dormitory that is being constructed next to Regis Hall. The new dorm, deemed the Ignatian Residential College Program will be a residential college with the goal of housing sophomores to accommodate for larger class sizes, said Ficko.
A new school of business is also in the works for Fairfield , a multi-million dollar project that is set to be erected somewhere on the hill across from the Dimenna-Nyselius Library. According to Ficko, construction for the new building is planned to begin this December and crews hope to break ground sometime in early 2018.
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