Even as bulldozers clear out trees and plow through mounds of dirt to make room for the controversial 1,200 car parking garage, opponents of the project still remain optimistic that their efforts will help influence this and other projects in the community.
Art Lichtenberger, president of the Lewis Mountain Neighborhood Association that has opposed construction of the garage near the intersection of Emmet Street and Ivy Road, said he hopes the media's coverage of his organization will make a permanent impact on how the University works with the community.
"I think that it was very optimistic for us to think that we could completely stop the garage," Lichtenberger said. "We did get a lot of press and the University's attention, which will hopefully change the way the University interacts with neighborhoods."
Preliminary construction has begun throughout the past month, and the garage is scheduled to be available for use next fall, according to University spokeswoman Louise Dudley.
"Ideally the garage will be ready as close as possible to the opening of school next year," Dudley said.
Lichtenberger said that, at this point, no LMNA efforts would stop garage construction, but he hopes the controversy surrounding the garage can be avoided in the future through better communication.
"We would like to see more input from the community and more discussions before projects get off preliminary boards, as opposed to making plans first then talking to neighborhoods and the surrounding community," he said.
Although not entirely successful in its opposition, the LMNA did succeed in delaying the groundbreaking.
"Construction certainly started later than we had hoped," Dudley said. "The original target date to begin construction was the end of July, but construction did not start for more than two months. Hopefully the contractor can make up some of that lost time."
The LMNA also will have representatives on the steering committee for a second traffic study to be completed in February, Lichtenberger said.
"Once the study is completed, it will make recommendations to the University, such as expanding lanes and synchronizing traffic lights for the alleviation of traffic problems," Dudley said.
The University already has offered to pay for the synchronization of a number of traffic lights along Emmet Street and Ivy Road, in addition to funding the extension of the extra lane on Ivy Road to reach the new garage, she added.
The most recent construction has relocated a stream that goes through the property, and also erected retaining walls to protect trees on the site, Dudley said.
A construction project status report issued by David Sweet, senior project manager of the University Facilities Planning and Construction Department, also indicated that telecom circuits have been temporarily switched over to temporary overhead lines, and that precast concrete building components are being manufactured and stored at the construction company's plant.
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