Construction continues to take place on campus, limiting students' parking alternatives. (Kayla Tucker)
The NIC campus is currently undergoing major construction projects, prompting changes in parking.
Construction of the roundabouts along River Avenue was prompted by the Education Corridor, a project that provides a shared campus for NIC, the University of Idaho, and Lewis and Clark State College. It is being built on the old DeArmond Mill site.
“They’ve been putting in all the utilities, so they’re about halfway across the site right now,” said Garry Stark, assistant director of facilities operations. “It’s not going to look that great, but then they’ll start planting the trees, and then the whole thing will start coming to life.”
Construction is expected to continue through the fall semester, as it progresses north to Hubbard Avenue and Northwest Boulevard. The new entrance to Hubbard Avenue is expected to be complete by Sept. 22.
A new traffic signal will be installed on Northwest Boulevard to compensate for the planned new entrance to Hubbard Avenue.
Parking lots are available on Military Drive behind the Headwaters Complex, on Park Drive off Northwest Boulevard, and on the old mill site behind the Lewis-Clark State College portables, River Building and Timber Hall through River Avenue.
“We turned every piece of dirt we had available into parking,” Stark said.
There is also an available lot beneath the readerboard near the intersection of Northwest Boulevard and Mullan Avenue.
“With all the construction, we’ve had to park in different areas, but we’ve gotten through it,” said Diane Rininger, Coordinator for Parking Services. “When we finish, it’ll be positive for the students, staff, faculty, and the community.”
Despite the alterations, the operation has been fairly smooth.
“I think we’re getting our students in and out of the parking lots fairly well,” said Mike Halpern, Director of Facilities Operations.
About 40 parallel parking spaces on College Drive and River Avenue were eliminated to leave the road more open for snow removal and emergency vehicles.
“We’ve compensated with parking lots,” Halpern said.
The Children’s Center added two parallel parking spaces on the right side of the driveway to accommodate families using that facility after they raised concerns about safety and a lack of parking spaces.
“It’s worked out really well,” Stark said. “That was a major concern the last couple of years.”
To aid in the process of adjusting to all these changes, Diamond Parking was hired for the first couple weeks of classes for directional help.
“It was kind of like event parking,” Stark said.
Halpern said there are approximately 2,600 parking spaces available on the NIC campus.
“We don’t have a parking problem,” Halpern said. “We have a walking problem.”
“Your best bet is to just pick one of these outlying lots,” said Bill McElver, Supervisor of the Physical Plant.
“You might be the lucky person who finds someone backing out, but you’ll save yourself a lot of time and a lot of headaches if you just park in one of these outer lots and walk in, he said.
“I know that’s hard to do when you’re late for class, but odds are against you that you’re going to get an available space out on campus.”
