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June 02, 2010 Alestlelive.com By Jason Frazier |
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Campus parking lots receive makeover
SIUE issued the contract to Oates Associates Inc. to complete the parking lot project. Langendorf said they are responsible for most of the building and repairs on campus.
If you have paid a ticket or two within the last year, chances are those dollars are going right back into the lots where the ticket was issued.
Revenue from parking tickets, meters and permits will pay for the resurfacing of parking lots across campus, according to Tony Langendorf, assistant to the director of Parking Services.
"We will be repaving every lot on this campus except for lots F, 4A, and B," Langendorf said.
Resealing the lots may seem like a time-consuming process, but Langendorf said the project will be completed by the fall.
"Each lot takes three days to complete, however the entire process should take 7-10 weeks," Langendorf said. "The contract with the company repaving the lots states the lots must be done by the start of the fall semester."
Langendorf said some of the most commonly used lots will be paved in sections to not heavily disrupt parking for students and faculty during the summer
"Main interior lots, like Lot A, we will pave half of the lot at a time because it is so large," Langendorf said. "In the summer, the student census is low. This allows us to close one lot and direct students and faculty to another lot if needed."
Revenue for the resealing of the parking lots is generated by SIUE and is not a product of state grants or loans.
"Re-sealing the parking lots is costing SIUE $300,000," Langendorf said. "Parking doesn't receive any money from the state. This project is being funded through citations, meter revenue, and parking permits."
The lots are being resealed with tar asphalt. Langendorf said originally SIUE used Reclamite to seal the parking areas.
"Most of the lots were built in 1997, in the past we used Reclamite, a clear substance which seals the asphalt," Langendorf said. "We were only allowed to apply three applications of Reclamite every four years. Since the cycle for the Reclamite is done, we are now using a coal tar seal."
The price of maintenance may seem high, but Langendorf said it saves SIUE money in the long run by doing the maintenance consistently instead of waiting to completely rebuild the lot.
"We do crack filling in the fall; this is just maintenance. It's more cost effective to do maintenance on the lots than to allow the entire base to become damaged," Langendorf said. "To resurface the lot if the base is intact, it costs around $500-$1000 per space; to rebuild the lot if the base is gone you are looking at $2000-$3000 per space."
SIUE issued the contract to Oates Associates Inc. to complete the parking lot project. Langendorf said they are responsible for most of the building and repairs on campus.
"The maintenance is recommended by our engineering firm, Oates Associates Inc.," Langendorf said. "SIUE uses them for any projects on campus that requires an outside engineering firm such as the new science building."
SIUE alumni and Oates Associates Inc. Project manager Tom Cissell said the parking lots have upgraded since his time on the SIUE campus.
"The parking lots when I was a student at SIUE had weeds and grass growing up through them," Cissell said. "The campus has made a priority to take care of their lots and make them look aesthetically pleasing compared to my time there."
SIUE is doing maintenance on the lots already in place; however, senior mass communications major Melissa Sherman said they also need to create better areas for parking as well.
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"We need better parking in general," Sherman said. "The lots on the other side really put a damper on traffic with all of the pedestrian crossing. It's really frustrating during the busy hours."
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