Eastern Michigan University’s parking structure recently finished renovations that took place over the summer of 2019.
The parking garage is a four-story structure located between the Bruce T. Halle Library and the Student Center on the west side of campus. It is the only parking structure on the main campus.
According to a press release by EMU Today, the parking structure renovations were both structural and aesthetic. Some of the renovations completed include the ramp to the third floor and the three stairwells being repaired, as well as nine handicapped spaces being added. It is reported that the renovations cost about $1.4 million dollars.
The structure was not the only project that ParkEMU, operated by LAZ Parking, completed this summer. Other improvements included updated parking lot names and new signs to reflect those names.
Former Green Lot 2, located by the Village, is now North Lot. Oakwood Lot North is now called Pine Grove Lot; this lot is northwest of the Halle Library along Oakwood street. Oakwood Lot South is the Science Complex Lot; this is convenient as it is the lot in front of the Mark Jefferson Science Complex. These are just a few examples of the lots that got renamed.
These new parking lot signs were installed across campus to make it easier for students and faculty/staff to find the correct lots that corresponded with their parking permit. Along with the name of the lot, the sign also includes what kind of permit you need to park there, what days and hours you can park, as well as contact information for LAZ.
With these changes in names comes a lot of confusion and frustration on campus from students and staff/faculty alike who had gotten used to the previous names of the lots. Although the renaming of the lots may seem like a pretty insignificant change, there is more to update than just the parking lot signs.
Nathaniel Fishel, a junior at EMU, is a web developer for the Integrated Content section of the Division of Communication. As a web developer, his job is to work on all official websites hosted by EMU.
“We get tickets in Samanage [an IT service-desk management provider] to fix pages,” Fishel said. “We build new projects that are requested.”
Nathaniel’s latest project includes updating campus maps and outdated PDFs online that mention the old parking lot names to the new ones. These PDFs include any documents for orientation or events that direct people to lots on campus by their old name, so they must be updated to prevent any confusion. If these did not get updated, future visitors who are unfamiliar with EMU’s campus would have a hard time trying to find the correct lot they need to park in and could get ticketed because of that.
Students and faculty/staff can count on more parking projects to occur in the future. With ParkEMU only on their second year of a 35-year commitment to EMU, this is only the beginning of the renovations and changes they will be making to parking.
Geoff Larcom, executive director of media relations at EMU, said “ParkEMU is looking forward to adding further facility and technological improvements to the parking system in the future.”
To view the official campus map, please visit https://www.emich.edu/map/.
