Update to the Construction Impact of the New Research Building

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 28, 2016) – Construction is slated to begin soon on the University of Kentucky’s new research facility, immediately to the west of the Biomedical Biological Sciences Research Building (BBSRB) along Virginia Avenue. This $265 million research facility is dedicated to addressing Kentucky challenges, particularly health disparities in areas such as cancer, diabetes, heart diseases, drug abuse and other health conditions, as well as fostering multidisciplinary research across numerous fields working in close proximity and collaboratively to solve complex problems. 

In November 2015, Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) shared an overview of the construction and its impact on campus parking. PTS continues to work closely with Capital Projects Management Division to minimize the impact of this project on the campus community.  As the start of construction nears, this update provides more detailed information as to what the campus community can expect.

Construction of this facility will impact parking starting at the close of business on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, and will result in shifting reserved (E+) parking west toward Press Avenue into the remaining Press Avenue North surface parking lot, relocating disabled accessible parking into several newly designated accessible parking areas, and ultimately displacing approximately 200 employee (E) parking spaces. Sufficient capacity exists in a variety of campus parking areas to accommodate those impacted employees, as outlined below.

While construction is not scheduled to impact parking until mid-February, employees are encouraged to familiarize themselves with alternative parking and multimodal options prior to the construction impact to find one that best meets their needs.

Employee (E) Parking Alternatives:  With the transition of the surface parking between Press Avenue and BBSRB from Employee (E) to E+ Reserved parking, employee parking demand will likely shift to the Press Avenue Garage (PS #6), which will ultimately result in the garage reaching capacity earlier in the morning. To aid with the anticipated increase in demand at the Press Avenue Garage, PTS will be installing a digital space counter sign at the garage’s entrance in early February; this sign will allow drivers to avoid searching for space in the garage if the structure has already reached capacity.

Other options for employees who currently park in the Press Avenue area include:

Approaching campus from the south: Employees with valid E permits are authorized to park in any campus employee (E) parking areas, which include the Commonwealth Stadium parking lots. Employees who commute to campus from the south may find the following suggested parking alternatives to be just as fast and convenient as their current parking accommodations.

• The Orange Lot at Commonwealth Stadium, located at the corner of University and Alumni Drives. The Orange Lot is served by the Purple (UK HealthCare) Route, which provides frequent access to the Health Sciences Research Building (HSRB) and the new Hospital (Pavilion A) with interior building connectivity to the Kentucky Clinic, College of Pharmacy, and BBSRB.
• The Blue and Red Lots at Commonwealth Stadium, located across University Drive from the Orange Lot and along the south side of Commonwealth Stadium. The Blue and Red Lots are served by the campus Blue and White bus routes which provide convenient access to and from the Kentucky Clinic and College of Pharmacy bus stops.

Approaching campus from the north: Employees with valid E permits are authorized to park in any campus employee (E) parking areas. Employees who commute to campus from the north may find the following suggested parking alternatives to be just as fast and convenient as their current parking accommodations.

• The Scott Street Lot, located off Scott Street, behind the Lexington Fire Department Station #6.
• The Taylor/Dickey Lot, located off Scott Street behind Taylor Education and Dickey Hall.
• The Reynolds Lot, located off Scott Street, adjacent to Reynolds Warehouse #1.
• The South Limestone Garage (PS #5), located on South Limestone next to Kennedy’s Wildcat Den, with access on both South Upper and South Limestone Streets.

These areas are a modest 6-10 minute walk from the Virginia Avenue corridor as well as a short ride using the campus Blue and White bus routes from the Taylor/Dickey bus stop.

Virginia Avenue Disabled Accessible Parking Alternatives:  In anticipation of this construction, PTS transitioned the Huguelet Drive Reserved Lot to disabled accessible parking in August 2015, resulting in a net increase in disabled accessible parking in the area. In the coming week, PTS will add additional disabled parking in the Leader Avenue Lot, adjacent to the College of Medicine Building. Finally, the Press Avenue Garage (PS #6) also has a number of underutilized disabled accessible parking spaces with convenient shuttle access to the Kentucky Clinic via the Pink Route.

BBSRB E+ Reserved Parking Accommodations:  Employees with BBSRB E+ permits will shift slightly to the west into what remains of the adjacent Press Avenue North Lot, which will change from an employee (E) lot to E+ designation. At that time, all remaining surface UK-controlled parking between Press Avenue and BBSRB will be reserved for E+ permit holders.

Long-Term Solutions:  The university has been working hard over the past several months with Sasaki and Associates to develop a comprehensive Transportation Master Plan (TMP) focused on enhancing mobility to, from and around campus; the TMP provides a framework, which will guide campus mobility into the future. The final recommendations from Sasaki call for investments in enhancing alternative commuting options while also adding additional parking resources. After adding nearly 1,000 new spaces in time for the 2015-2016 school year and implementing the BluPass program, under which UK students and employees ride all Lextran routes free of charge, PTS is currently developing plans that will add several hundred new spaces to the campus for the start of next academic year. Moreover, the university continues to explore alternatives that could allow further expansion of parking, in addition to options to ensure that campus remains accessible to all members of the campus community.

A map of the specific parking areas and bus stops outlined here may be found below. Additionally, a campus parking map can be found at www.uky.edu/pts/parking-info_parking-maps. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Blair Hoover, (859) 257-6398; blair.hoover@uky.edu