Board makes plans for parking garage
Construction may begin this summer

By Alisha Brown
Staff Reporter

Approval to begin planning for a parking garage on campus was given to the building and grounds committee by the Board of Trustees March 30, Chancellor Michael Ferrari said.

The plans for a parking garage have been under investigation for approximately a year now, he said, but are finally coming to a realization. Ferrari said a concrete building will be the best solution for the parking problem.

Tim Cox/SKIFF STAFF Students wait for parking spaces in the lot behind the Mary Couts Burnett Library Tuesday. Chancellor Michael Ferrari said planning for a parking garage on campus has begun. No details have been finalized regarding location, size and cost.

“We don’t want to take away any more green space than we have to,” Ferrari said. “Our best option is to build a parking garage that is a compliment to the campus.”

The parking solution is still in very preliminary stages though, said Wil Stallworth, associate vice chancellor for Plant Management.

What university officials do know is a possible parking garage would accommodate 500 to 600 vehicles, Ferrari said.

Last year, the TCU Police issued 6,882 parking permits to students and another 1,000 to faculty and staff, said DeAnn Jones, executive assistant for TCU Police. In total, there were 6,168 spaces available at this time last year, she said.

However, since that time, spaces have been taken for construction purposes, Jones said.

“There is no current calculation of the available parking,” she said.

University architects have identified four possible sites for the new garage

Stallworth said the existing parking lot behind Moudy Building South is being considered as a primary location.

When the William E. and Jean Jones Tucker Technology Center is completed, the increased traffic in the area would also make need for additional parking, Ferrari said.

Another option would be to put the garage along Stadium Drive in the parking lot that faces the Rickel Building. However, plans to renovate the Rickel and the new baseball stadium might also increase traffic.

The fourth option along West Cantey Street has been removed from the primary list, Stallworth said.

Ferrari said University Christian Church and TCU have considered sharing some of the costs for a garage behind the church that would accommodate both institutions.

No further details regarding the type of parking or the cost of the garage were available.

“We don’t have final approval to begin construction,” Ferrari said. “We still have to identify the primary location and size.”

The parking proposal was not on the board’s official agenda because all the information had not been collected, Stallworth said.

Ferrari said he hopes to have final decisions made and approved by the end of the semester in order for construction to begin over the summer.

Alisha Brown
a.k.brown2@student.tcu.edu