Summer 2004 Construction Update
Frequently Asked Questions

What are the traffic restrictions on 12th Avenue?

It seems to be both a one-way street at one end, and a two-way street at another. To facilitate the widening of 12th Avenue in preparation for the state Route 315 ramps — scheduled to open in July — traffic on 12th Avenue is restricted to one-way eastbound between the University Hospital loading dock and Neil Avenue, effective Wednesday April 7. All traffic exiting the 12th Avenue Garage is being detoured eastbound. Project schedules have been rearranged to minimize the impacts to customers in this area, however traffic delays will be inevitable. All traffic not accessing the parking along 12th Avenue should use King Avenue as a detour. This restriction is expected to last into June. For now, motorists parking in the North Cannon Garage will still be permitted to exit westbound.

In related project news, the university and the City of Columbus are working together to adjust the timing of stoplights along Neil Avenue, which should help alleviate some traffic concerns along 12th Avenue.

When will the Wiseman parking lot close for good?

The remaining spaces in Wiseman Hall surface lot will be removed for Biomedical Research Tower construction on April 13th. If you arrive between 7:30 ñ 8:00a.m., then you might be able to find a parking spot in either the North Cannon Parking Garage or the polo lot. However, the best solution is to park at the Buckeye Lot at Fred Taylor and Ackerman and ride the Medical Center Express shuttle to main campus.

Why was staff parking eliminated from the South Cannon Garage?

Staff members are able to access this garage between 2:30 p.m. and 3 a.m. with the appropriate hangtag. You must exit the garage by 8 a.m. Outside of those hours, this garage was changed to be for patients and visitors only to provide better access during peak business hours for those who are visiting the Hospitals Clinic, Dodd Hall, the Davis Center and other nearby buildings. You may recall that a similar change was made when the 12th Avenue Garage was converted to patient and visitor parking during peak business hours. The South Cannon Garage and the 12th Avenue Garage should provide enough parking to accommodate our patients and visitors.

How long will the South Cannon Garage during the day shift be reserved for patients and visitors?

The new 8-floor Hospitals Parking Garage by the Ross Heart Hospital will open in June 2004. Upon completion of that garage, parking in the Medical Center will again be reallocated, with the majority of patient and visitor parking being directed to the new garage, and additional faculty, staff and student parking becoming available in area garages currently used by visitors and patients.

Where can staff with a handicap parking sticker park?

Disability parking is provided in all areas of campus. To find out where disability parking is provided, contact Transportation & Parking Services at 292-9341.

Why isn't oil or some chemical sprayed on the Polo Lot to keep the dust down?

This was done several years ago with unsuccessful results. The oil gets on clothing, shoes etc. and is tracked into cars and buildings. Extreme dust caused by the very dry weather should be reduced once there is more precipitation.

Are there plans to fill the potholes in the Polo Lot?

On March 29th, Transportation and Parking began filling potholes with 100 tons of gravel, and they have been in the lot since that time. T&P has used over 500 tons of gravel since August filling holes in this area.

Are there plans to pave all of the Polo Lot?

There is a possibility that a new building will be located on the existing paved portion of the Polo Lot. An analysis is being done to see if a parking structure in the Polo Lot area will serve the proposed new building, along with accommodating the current parking issues in the Medical Center area. If the decision is made not to put a building in this area, the parking lot will be paved. Most likely, this decision will not occur until Summer 2005, when the building and parking analysis is complete.

I'm concerned about the construction workers getting preferred parking. What's being done to address this?

During this period of construction, you will see a number of construction crews in and around the area. They are here to help us. The majority of the construction crews are parking in the Buckeye Lot and are being shuttled to the medical center campus. Limited central campus access has been made available to specific projects, but if you notice a large number of contractors parking in patient, visitor or A/B parking, please notify Traffic and Parking by e-mailing tpinfo@osu.edu.

Is there any compensation for the lack of parking and the cost of parking hangtags?

A parking permit does not guarantee the holder a specific parking space. It provides the opportunity to park within an area designated for a specific permit type. Compensation is not provided for any loss of parking. However, more cost-effective options are available. Any Central Campus permit may be exchanged for a less-expensive West Campus permit (use the 24-hour shuttle service). Or, use the CX parking permit and the Med Center Express shuttle. Parking fees are being used to fund two new parking garages in the Medical Center area.

Will disability parking be available in the 12th Avenue Parking Garage (K) and North Cannon Parking Garage (J)?

Yes. Customers with an OSU Disability permit may enter each garage by pulling a spitter ticket and, upon exit, providing the attendant the OSU disability permit. Exit is permitted without an additional parking fee.

Where are employees who are also patients allowed to park?

Realizing that employees may become patients or visitors of the Medical Center at some time, the following parking opportunities are available:

• Use your assigned OSU parking permit, and park in areas appropriate for the permit you hold, or
• Use Valet Parking for the standard $5 fee, or
• Park in the 12th Avenue Parking Garage (K) by taking a ticket and paying the fee upon exit.

Why are B and C stickers in A spaces on the surface lot when I come in for the evening shift?

It is University Policy that all surface parking lots be available to B, C and CX hangtags from 4:00 p.m.-2:00 a.m. and on weekends. The exception is for restricted spaces such as the Physician Reserved spaces, which are enforced around the clock.

Can students be required to park on West Campus?

The West Campus lot is already near capacity for both students and staff. Students have specific parking needs just like staff and faculty, and in some cases come and go more often. They have similar concerns regarding allocation, and any changes to the present allocation system must have community input from all constituency groups.

Can I switch from an A hangtag to a B or C, or vice-versa?

No. However, any hangtag can be exchanged for a CX hangtag for the Buckeye Lot. All other permit exchanges are required to be within your current classification. For example, an A permit could switch to a WA which is West Campus permit. Or, a B permit could switch to a WB permit.

Why can't faculty, staff or students park in the 12th Avenue or South Cannon Parking Garage during the day?

Patients are usually unfamiliar with alternative parking options on campus, where faculty, staff and students have more opportunity and familiarity with the campus. In order to allow patients and visitors more accessible parking, the OSU Medical Center administration has designated the 12th Avenue Parking Garage and the South Cannon Parking Garage patient and visitor parking during peak daytime hours. Faculty and staff that have keycards may access the South Cannon Parking Garage from 2:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. and the 12th Avenue Parking Garage from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m., but must vacate by 8 a.m. Those without keycards may park in the surface parking west of Cannon or in the Buckeye Lot located at Fred Taylor and Ackerman, using the Med Center Express shuttles to commute between central campus.

Why does the cost of parking continue to rise even though there isn't any available parking around campus for faculty and staff?

Transportation and Parking Services is an auxiliary department of the University, which means the department must self-generate all needed revenue to build, operate, and maintain all parking and run CABS (Campus Area Bus Service). Parking permits and the hourly fees collected from visitors are the only source of pay for these expenses. As surface parking is consumed by buildings-it is necessary to replace it with parking structures, which cost $20,000/space to build (as opposed to $2,500 for a surface parking lot) along with the cost to operate and maintain. In order to meet these requirements it is necessary to raise the cost of parking. Two garages are currently under construction, which will provide a total of 1600 parking spaces when they open. These garages have been in the planning/design stages for the past 2 years, and will open in mid-2004.

Can "C" parking permit spaces be eliminated in high-demand central campus areas to allow for more "A" and "B" parking permit spaces? 

In 1995, the decision was made to discontinue reallocating "C" spaces to make up for lost "A" and "B" parking spaces when construction consumed them. This was in response to the Committee on the Undergraduate Experience (CUE) report. The issues raised in this report concerned the fact that student parking was already located in the least desirable areas (back half of parking lots or west campus), "A" and "B" permits could park in "C" parking any time, and if any losses to "A" and "B" parking occurred, they were automatically taken from "C". The CUE report requested that either this practice of reallocation stop, or that "A" and "B" permits no longer be allowed to park in "C" parking. The University Administration agreed to discontinue reallocation of "C" parking while retaining the flexibility of allowing "A" and "B" permits to use "C" parking. In addition, students also have specific parking needs and in some cases come and go more often than faculty and staff. They have similar concerns regarding allocation and any changes to the present allocation system must have community input from all constituency groups.

How can I find out more about parking and construction impacts to campus? 

OSU Today and Buckeye Net News will include weekly updates with “just in time” information regarding upcoming impacts to parking and traffic due to construction. You can also check out the Transportation and Parking’s web page at www.tp.ohio-state.edu/construction/index.shtml or the Medical Center’s Operation Grow site at operationgrow.osu.edu/index.cfm If you have a specific question related to parking or transportation, e-mail T&P at tpinfo@osu.edu.

With all of the work taking place on the new on and off ramps for State Route 315, I am wondering if any thought has been given to either building a pedestrian walkway above Cannon Drive so that people parking in the Polo Lot can cross and not have to worry about oncoming traffic or possibly extending the underground tunnels from the Cannon Drive garages below Cannon Drive on into the Polo Lot?

OSU is currently taking measures to provide protected crossings along Cannon Drive at the intersections of 10th Avenue and Cannon Drive, and 12th Avenue and Cannon Drive. Plans include elimination of the mid-block crossing that currently exists on Cannon Drive. While there would be significant costs in building a bridge, more importantly, it is likely that many people wouldn't use it. Traffic consultants who have advised OSU on how to mitigate traffic and reduce pedestrian/vehicles noted that on the OSU campus, pedestrians take the most direct route even when an overhead walkway is provided. The University Facility Planning and Development office, which oversees all campus planning and construction, is aware of the frequent requests and will take any lead on constructing such an overpass.

Why do the parking garages always have the "full" light on? I have gone in to find that there are spaces available on the top floor and other times it is full. Why are the "full" signs not accurate? 

The "full" signs in the older garages (9th Avenue and 11th Avenue) are attached to the ticket “spitters,” which monitor the number of hourly customers that enter a garage. The 9th Avenue and 11th Avenue Garages are keycard only during peak daytime hours. Customers are not permitted in these garages. To prevent customers from entering these garages during restricted hours, Transportation and Parking must program the spitter machine not to dispense tickets. To do this they must tell the machine the garage is full, which causes the "full" light to go on.  All garage signs are being updated like ones found by North/South Cannon and now 9th and 11th that will clarify who can enter the garage and eliminate this confusing practice.

When will the Cannon Drive crosswalk at 12th Avenue reopen? 

The 12th Avenue and Cannon Drive crosswalk is closed due to construction of the State Route 315 ramps. The crosswalk will remain closed until this project is complete in July 2004.

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