We have had much discussion about ways to inform the public of parking issues during construction and have asked the transportation planners and architects to provide some pictures and maps as we go along so I can post them here. Also signage both inside and outside the garage will be very important.
Our current thinking is that on any given day we may be using from 15 to 30 spaces for construction on various parking levels. As I stated in earlier posts, in January and February, the entire upper parking deck will out of service along with a few other spaces.
We are continuing to make decisions about the look and functioning of the new level and overpass and our hope is that all of this pre-planning will result in a quicker completion without undue complications. I am very impressed with the level of expertise of our team and their ability to completely think through all possible scenarios.
We also continue to meet with stakeholders and most recently met with our ADA folks. We are planning to add parking stalls to accommodate minivans which we believe will be very helpful and to also address other ADA issues with the current garage. Interestingly, we have discovered that the elevation from the existing upper level of the garage to the escalator only varies by a few inches so having accessibility here should provide a great transition from the garage to Gay Street. For those folks who may find themselves on State Street, we plan to change the crosswalk so that the overpass provides a covered walkway up to the stairway and elevator. Currently a KUB transformer under the sidewalk there has been problematic but we plan to move the transformer into the space created under the overpass nearer the Regal Cinema building.
Our next Public Meeting will be held on October 11, 2012 at the East Tennessee History Center at 5:00pm and I hope to have finalized renderings of the look of the new deck and overpass area.
As always, thanks for your continued interest in downtown.
