Saturday, January 30, 2016

2016 Parking Plan Presented At SGA

The three most important factors for students are parking, parking, and parking.  The Houstonian (Jan. 27) discusses the second of those three factors:
Vice President of Finance and Operations Carlos Hernandez and Huntsville City Manager Matt Benoit attended the Student Government Association meeting last night to discuss an upcoming project that will provide 164 new parking spaces as well as other changes for Sam Houston State.

Another change to expect by next fall is two-way roads will become one-way roads. However, speed limits are not expected to change.

The new parking spaces will be slanted on the sides of the one-way roads. Who will receive access to the new parking spaces and how access will be granted has not yet been determined. Options discussed during the meeting included the spots being leased to the university or an app that substitutes parking meters.

The city also plans to construct new sidewalks from Highway 19 to Avenue J on both sides of SHSU. They also plan to complete the sidewalks on one side of Avenue J and build new sidewalks on both sides Montgomery. This will benefit students who bike to and from campus.

The council is considering changing the crosswalks around campus and potentially adding new areas to cross.

“Fundamentally, we’re trying to change behavior,” Hernandez said. “If that change in behavior is successful, there may not be a need for additional crosswalks.”

New sidewalks will cost about $3 million dollars. Parking spot painting and potential new crosswalks will cost between $50,000-$75,000.
“We had an opportunity through the Texas Department of Transportation to get some grant funds to help pay for the new sidewalks,” Benoit said. “I think it will take some getting used to, but I don’t think it will be a prolonged period of adjustment.”

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