One component of John Carroll University that many students, faculty and staff take advantage of is parking their vehicles on campus. The high number of people utilizing this service has required the university to constantly brainstorm ideas and evaluate how to make the parking systems smoother.
Since the Athletic & Wellness Center (AWE) opened in mid-October, the parking situation for faculty and staff, as well as the campus traffic flow, has been tweaked. During the construction of the AWE, 53 new parking spaces were paved. Since it opened, it has become a designated parking area for faculty and staff.
“With the AWE parking for faculty [and] staff, it opened more spaces for faculty [and] staff elsewhere on the main campus,” said Christina Dorazio, coordinator of JCU Parking.
“While most of the lot is marked for faculty [and] staff, the hope is this will open up additional spots for students elsewhere on campus,” said JCUPD Chief Jeffrey Daberko. “Additional spots for students behind Bernet were also opened up with the removal of fencing and dumpsters related to construction.”
On John Carroll’s campus, parking spots are available for students in the Carroll Expansion lot, Dolan East and West lots, Rodman Drive, the Boler lot, the Grasselli Library lot, Main Drive and Auxiliary Drive as long as there is no signage indicating otherwise. Students who park in reserved spots between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday will be ticketed.
In addition to parking changing over the course of the semester, the campus entrances and exits will be remapped by the end of the term. On Nov. 14, JCU Facilities sent a campus-wide email to the JCU community informing them about the permanent closure of the exit on Admin Drive (Gate C), which was effective Nov. 17.
“This closure is necessary following the completion of the AWE project and the subsequent establishment of new internal traffic designations by the City of University Heights,” JCU Facilities said in the email. “As a result of these designations, University Heights will no longer permit a fully available vehicle exit onto Carroll [Blvd.], which is designated as a residential street.”
“[We] will be closing Gate B on 12/13, as part of the agreement with the City of University Heights that was made when construction of the AWE began,” Daberko said. Gate B is the entrance and exit that is located on Miramar Blvd. by the Grasselli Library.
Daberko continued, “Although [these gates] were open for several years, these were historically not entrances to campus and now that the AWE is open, the campus will return to the usual pattern of entering via Belvoir Road or Carroll Blvd.”
In their statement, JCU Facilities asked the campus community to ensure that all vehicle departures use the remaining designated campus exits for now.
Daberko states that “there has been an increase in traffic through the Boler and AWE lots now that the Belvoir entrance [and] exit is open. If drivers follow posted signage and speed, it should be fine.”
“We understand this change may require minor adjustments to your daily routine and we appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we comply with the city’s new traffic safety requirements,” Facilities said.
JCU Facilities requested that anyone having any questions about these changes contact them at [email protected].
