The installation of underground utilities requires a temporary change to the normal traffic pattern between S.W. 109 Avenue and the campus loop road
Beginning June 15, the Modesto A. Maidique Campus entrance at S.W. 109th Avenue (off S.W. 8th Street) will be closed off from the campus loop road for approximately two months (June 15 – Aug. 10) as utility work related to future construction of the Academic Health Sciences Center is completed.
It’s anticipated that the work will be finished and access to the loop road re-established prior to the start of the Fall 2010 semester.
Access to the Red Parking Garage (PG-4) will be available only from the S.W. 109th Avenue entrance (off S.W. 8th Street) during this time.
Alternate entrances to campus are the S.W. 107th Avenue entrance and the main entrance on S.W. 8th Street. Both of these entrances will allow full access to the campus loop road.
For a map of the temporary changes, click here.
For more detail regarding the temporary changes, check out the video below.
Why will the west entrance to the Red Parking Garage be closed? This makes no sense to me. Can anyone provide me with a reason?
Very informative. I take that entrance everyday!
"Why is the west entrance being closed?" According to Police Chief King, there were concerns about safety and traffic congestion around the loop road. — Karen Cochrane, news.fiu.edu editor
That still makes no sense – the amount of traffic on the loop road will probably be less; there's no way it could be more than there is now. And if it's fine now, it will be fine then. As someone who needs access to the loop road going east from the Red Garage, this will be a major inconvenience for absolutely no reason. Can someone please revisit this, or at least explain why he thinks it would cause *more* traffic on the loop road?
Hi, Caroline — I don't think anyone said it was going to create more traffic; I think they said they were concerned about congestion in that area. Here's the thing — I imagine a limited amount of people use that west exit to the Red Garage daily. If everyone who normally uses the 109 entrance were to use that exit, though, it would create massive congestion in that area — without ever increasing the actual car count. It's a temporary inconvenience we're going to have to adjust to in the name of FIU progress. — Karen Cochrane
I agree with Caroline and see no reason to close the PG-4 west exit/entrance. Access to Parking Lot #1 will still be open and therefore the traffic congestion (or whatever) will be the same. [Edited for content.]
I park in this garage every day, and go in and out during the day
occasionally. MANY people use the west entrance/exit; partly because
the east exit is already pretty congested. The light onto 8th St from
109 is quite short; during the day, only 3 cars can get out to go left
during the green. It's better during rush hour, but there is always a
back-up; sometimes up the ramp in the garage. Lots of folks go out the
west exit; it's faster, doesn't get backed up. It's often faster to
get off campus that direction.
If the east side is the only entrance/exit, the back up to get in and
out of the garage is going to be very, very bad. And for no reason.
People seem to be making decisions without a true understanding of how
the traffic in the area actually work. And the decisions are going to
make things more congested (and dangerous!); not less. We already have
people going left onto 8th from the center (a go-straight) lane of
109th because of the backup on 109th to go west on 8th. I've almost
been hit by these people. That's going to get much, much worse without
that west entrance/exit.
This just seems like a such a bad idea.
Why on earth would you close the west entrance to the red garage when all the construction is for the loop road further east of the garage. So you drive into the outside lot to park and it's full; instead of going into the garage at the west entrance (which is now closed), one must exit the campus and come into the garage off 8th street. What a total waste of my time – somebody was asleep at the wheel when that decision was made.
I agree with Lorraine and Caroline 100%. What does the west entrance have anything to do with what's going on on the other side? This is a MAJOR inconvenience for those of us who park in the red garage and head west through campus to go home. MANY, MANY people use the west entrance to enter and exit the garage as I do and observe on a daily basis. This uniformed decision has only made the situation much worse than it should be.
I meant "uninformed."
Again, please reconsider this bad decision.