Gazette
masthead
   About The Gazette Search Back Issues Contact Us    
The newspaper of The Johns Hopkins University June 27, 2005 | Vol. 34 No. 38
 
New Parking Plan Set for Homewood

Registration begins July 1 for a new price-tiered system

By Greg Rienzi
The Gazette

The summer of 2005 signals a number of major changes in the paid parking system at the Homewood campus. The university will soon begin to implement permanent and interim measures to deal with a shortage of on-campus spaces during the construction of a new underground garage as part of the South Quadrangle project, located on the site of what is now the 500-space Garland Lot.

Of particular note, the university has introduced a new price-tiered system — to go into effect Sept. 6 — for parking spaces at a selection of on-campus and off-campus sites. The registration period for these spaces will start on Friday.

The parking system change was necessitated in large part by the physical growth of the Homewood campus over the past few years.

Under the new system, Homewood personnel can choose one of five options offered at different prices. The parking choices are the Homewood surface lots, faculty hangtag spaces (for curbside spaces adjacent to academic buildings), the West Gate Garage near the Johns Hopkins Club, the new San Martin Center's garage and the Ellerslie Avenue satellite lot at Johns Hopkins at Eastern. Monthly rates range from $30 to $95.

The San Martin Center, whose main tenant is the Carnegie Institution of Washington's Department of Embryology, will add 340 spaces to the available inventory when it opens on Aug. 15, helping to offset the loss of 550 spaces from the Garland Lot and the metered spaces on Wyman Park Drive due to South Quadrangle construction.

Site work will begin in late summer on the new 604-space garage hidden underneath the South Quadrangle. In September, full-scale construction will start on the project, which is scheduled for completion by September 2007.

In 2000, the university adopted a new campus master plan to guide Homewood's growth and enliven its aesthetic appearance. One aspect of the plan sought to minimize the disruption caused by trucks rumbling over a twisted network of asphalt roads, while at the same time enhancing pedestrian safety. To this end, the plan called for diverting most traffic and parking away from the interior of campus and toward the periphery.

In terms of growth, the university today has more students and staff in addition to a number of new buildings, including the Mattin Center, Ralph S. O'Connor Recreation Center, Hodson Hall, Clark Hall and the New Chemistry Building. The resulting problem is a greater demand for parking and less land available for surface parking lots.

The Homewood parking system will continue to be self-supporting, financed on a break-even basis by the monthly parking fees. The basic philosophy of the new fee system is that those who choose the most convenience — in terms of both proximity to campus and assurance of a particular parking location — should be ready to pay the most. Those who are willing to put up with a little more inconvenience should get a price break.

From July 1 to Aug. 1, university affiliates may select their first, second and third parking preferences by registering at www.jhu.edu/parking. The university will assign parkers to their preferred options on a first-come, first-served basis, until those options are filled to capacity. If the first choice is not available, the person will be assigned to either the second or third choice, as available. Those who register after all on-campus options are filled will be assigned to the Ellerslie Avenue satellite lot and be placed on a waiting list for the preferred on-campus options.

Between Aug. 1 and Aug. 15, those who have applied will receive an e-mail confirmation of their parking assignment.

The university strongly discourages parking in the communities surrounding campus, to keep the severely limited spaces available for neighborhood residents. Baltimore City strictly enforces area parking regulations with both ticketing and towing.

With the closure of the Garland Lot on Sept. 2, visitor parking will be moved temporarily to the Stony Run Lot, located off Wyman Park Drive, where there will be 150 visitor spaces available. The first half-hour will continue to be free of charge, and the daily maximum fee in fiscal year 2006 will remain at $10. Visitor's hangtags are available to departments and offices for $8 each.

When the South Quadrangle underground garage opens in September 2007, it will provide 150 visitor parking spaces.

In order to help answer the majority of parking questions and concerns, the Parking Office has created a comprehensive Homewood parking Web site, www.jhu.edu/parking, which includes details on all the available parking options and related information, such as shuttle schedules.

 

Locations and Rates

West Gate Garage ($95/month)
Located behind the Johns Hopkins Club. All spaces are reserved. Access will be by J Card.

San Martin Center garage ($70/month nonreserved, $95/month reserved)
Located off San Martin Drive. Access will be by J Card.

Faculty hangtag parking ($70/month)
The faculty hangtag program will continue to provide curbside spaces, for faculty members only, on selected small campus surface lots and on the Muller Garage top lot.

Homewood surface lot parking ($45/month)
Wyman East, Wyman West, Muller, Hall of Fame and Carnegie Institution lots (available Jan. 1), all located at the periphery of campus. Access by J Card.

Off-campus buildings' surface lots ($45/month)
Some off-campus buildings — such as the Interfaith Center, Wolman House, Steinwald House and the JHU Press — have small surface lots that are available only to members of the paid parking system who work in those specific buildings.

Johns Hopkins at Eastern, main lot ($45/month)
Open only to staff members who work at Eastern.

Johns Hopkins at Eastern, Ellerslie Avenue satellite lot ($30/month)
The Ellerslie Avenue lot is located to the west and downhill from the Johns Hopkins at Eastern building. Shuttle service from this lot to and from Homewood will be provided. A highly visible security presence is bolstered by closed-circuit TV cameras, night lighting and new emergency phones. Vehicles will be identified by a bumper sticker specific to the Ellerslie Avenue lot.

GO TO JUNE 27, 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
GO TO THE GAZETTE FRONT PAGE.


The Gazette | The Johns Hopkins University | Suite 540 | 901 S. Bond St. | Baltimore, MD 21231 | 443-287-9900 | gazette@jhu.edu