By Bob Romantic
GCU News Bureau
The dirt parking lot adjacent to the sand volleyball courts on the GCU campus is about to go green again.
That area, which was converted to a parking lot last year to create more spaces during construction of the parking garage off Camelback Road, will become part of the Mariposa Lawn again and be available for intramural use.
In addition, street traffic to the north and west of the Mariposa Lawn will be closed off and converted to brick walkways similar to the Promenade and Alumni Mall. That also affects parking spaces on those streets (in front of the North Gym and Kaibab buildings).
Access to those parking areas will be blocked beginning Thursday night so that construction can begin. Employees can instead use the parking lots west of the soccer field, south of the North Gym, or the main parking garage.
“It has always been our plan to cut down on vehicular traffic on the interior of campus,” said Bob Machen, senior vice president for campus development.
Pedestrian safety also was a factor.
“When classes end, you’ve got 400 students leaving those lecture halls in the North Gym and entering street traffic,” said Charlie Sirokman, project director for campus development. “The safety of the students became a big concern.”
Sirokman said the brick pathways should be finished by the time students return from Christmas break on Jan. 7, and the grass intramural fields will be completed shortly thereafter.
In other construction updates:
- Two of the six buildings on the North Campus have been demolished. The rest will be razed in the coming weeks to make way for the new Saguaro residence hall.
- Masonry on the other new dormitory, Chaparral, began this week.
- Guard booths are in the process of being installed at the entrances at 32nd and 34th avenues.
Contact Bob Romantic at 639.7611 or [email protected].
