Levels two through seven of the parking garage will be inaccessible.
Photo by Alisha Durosier | The Crow’s Nest.
By Aubrey Carr
The final phase of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg’s parking garage renovation will begin on Nov. 19, shutting down all upper levels of the space.
This is the third time the garage has seen closures this semester, with surface-level issues being addressed this time.
“[The work] being done within the garage is associated with needed maintenance to address chipping and cracking of concrete,” Randy Pogue, manager of parking services said. “The final phase of work will start with the closure of the garage on Nov. 19 at 5 p.m. This closure is necessary for the vendor to complete their work efficiently and safely.”
According to Pogue, the maintenance will be completed by the morning of Nov. 29.
Floors two through five will be impacted by the repairs, with all cars required to be relocated by the 19th.
For students who do not plan to use their vehicles during the closure, parking will be allowed on the fifth through seventh floors. Access to these floors will not be allowed during this period.
Parking restrictions will be lifted for USF parking permit holders during this time, allowing parking on any campus lot, including Lot 20, south of the Warehouse Lab.
The concrete repairs come on the heels of the garage’s previous seventh floor closure to install safety fences across open-air areas.
The ‘safety fencing’ or fall protection was installed as part of an overall USF initiative across multi-story parking complexes,” Pogue said. “The fencing is intended to deter anyone considering harm to themselves from having unencumbered access to the ledge of the upper levels and also to prevent any unintentional fall.”
Fencing will also be installed across lower levels of the garage in early 2024, Pogue said.
The added safety measures are a response to student suicides seen at the Tampa campus’ Beard parking garage, the most recent occurring in July of this year.
