The Virginia Department of Transportation declared the University's first study of the traffic effects of the proposed parking garage at the corner of Emmet Street and Ivy Road to be insufficient.
The statement, which VDOT made in a letter to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, claimed the study failed to consider peak traffic times or pedestrian traffic.
These latest criticisms echo similar critiques that the City of Charlottesville and local resident groups made of the study, which the University conducted last fall.
VDOT became involved in the garage debate last week after U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon lifted an earlier injunction that had prevented VDOT from commenting on the traffic studies.
The first traffic study showed results that were favorable to the construction project.
"The main conclusion was that this garage can function well at this location, without a significant impact on traffic in the area," said Leonard W. Sandridge, University executive vice president and chief operating officer.
VDOT's letter also said VDOT will offer technical expertise to the University and the city to complete a second traffic study, which the University agreed to conduct after hearing the criticisms of the first study.
"We think there are some great opportunities for the University and the city to work together," VDOT spokesman Jim Jennings said.
VDOT hopes to improve traffic in the area regardless of whether the garage is built, he said.
City Council is working with the University on the second study, but opposes the proposed location of the parking garage, Council member Kevin Lynch said.
Though critical of the first study, VDOT's letter did not comment on the important issue of whether construction of the garage should begin before the second traffic study is complete.
In the coming weeks the DEQ will recommend to Sandra Bowen, the Governor's Secretary of Administration, whether construction should be delayed while the second study is completed. Bowen will make the ultimate decision.
If construction is delayed, the University would stand to lose thousands of dollars, University Spokeswoman Louise Dudley said.
Initially, the University plans to use the parking in the proposed garage to offset parking losses from construction of the University's new Massie Road basketball arena, Sandridge said.
The current parking lot on Massie Road, where many students park, is being destructed to make room for the new basketball arena.
Without the garage, construction of the arena likely would be put on hold, Dudley said.
"The larger cost would come from having to delay construction of the arena," she added.
However, opponents of the garage, including City Council, argue that beginning construction before the study is complete would defeat the purpose of the study.
"Why do this big study if you are not going to use the results?" said Art Lichtenberger, president of the Lewis Mountain Neighborhood Association, a group that opposes construction of the garage.
The timetable of the DEQ's recommendation and Bowen's decision is not known, Dudley said.
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