Construction of two Main Campus parking structures is scheduled to start at the end of the semester.
The Board of Regents approved the project at its meeting Thursday. The two structures will cost about $29 million and will be funded by bonds sold in 2007, according to UNM.
One parking structure will be located on the corner of Las Lomas and Redondo Drive, west of Dane Smith Hall. The structure will be built over C Lot.
The other structure will be at the corner of Yale Boulevard and Lomas Boulevard, south of the Children's Hospital.
The two structures will provide 1,300 parking spaces. The structure at C Lot will also incorporate the UNM Lobo Health Care Clinic on the lower level of the structure facing Redondo Drive.
In 2005, UNM requested a parking study from Walker Parking Consultants, which recommended additional parking structures, said Cynthia Martin, planning manager of Parking and Transportation Services.
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"We believe that the entire University community will benefit from mixed-use, multilevel parking on campus," she said in an e-mail to the Daily Lobo. "As the University continues to grow, and as new buildings are developed on what were once surface parking lots, we believe that the increased demand for proximity parking on campus warrants new parking structures."
Martin said the two structures would include handicap and van-accessible spaces, spaces for faculty, staff and reserved permit-holders, and hourly-based short-term parking for students and visitors. She said plans also include bicycle storage areas and designated bicycle and motorcycle parking areas.
Reserved-space permits in the structures will be sold at the same rate as other reserved parking spaces currently on campus, Martin said. Short-term parking rates will also be the same as current rates in existing structures.
Construction of the two structures should be complete by August 2010, she said.
Various institutional support services such as the Office of Capital Projects, Information Technology Services, and Safety & Risk Services have been developing the project over the last nine months.
Freshman Karen Farrell said she parks in M Lot, which fills up quickly. She said a parking structure near her classes would be the best solution to that inconvenience.
"I think (having more parking structures) would be an excellent idea, because it would be a lot more convenient for students to be able to park closer to campus, and it would make getting to class easier and less stressful," she said.
