Alecia Foster
NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- The idea surfaced about four years ago, then
disappeared.
Now, Glendale Community College officials are reviving the idea of
building a parking structure on campus.
"It resurfaced when we decided there are some needs that can only be
met by a bond measure," said Larry Serot, vice president of
administrative services for the college.
College officials are looking into placing a capital improvement bond
on the March 2002 ballot in an effort to help meet the college's growth
needs.
The campus' parking needs over the next 10 years is one of several
areas officials are looking at before making a final decision about
floating a bond, Serot said. The funds could be used to pay for the
structure, among other things, he said.
The district has presently has 2,790 parking spaces for students, said
Bill Taylor, director of business services for the college.
That include on-campus lots and those owned by the city at the nearby
Civic Center. A new parking structure would add about 1,100 spaces,
Taylor said.
Lack of parking and increasing enrollment has taken its toll on the
campus.
"We know one of our biggest problems with retaining students is
parking," he said.
A recent traffic study ordered by the college's Board of Trustees
indicated that a lot underneath the school's athletic field would have
the least negative affect on surrounding streets and freeways, Taylor
said.
Pasadena Community College has a similar structure, he said. At
Glendale, a lot could be built into the hillside where the athletic field
is. The field would be replaced on top of the structure, he said.
That is only one of four preliminary options up for discussion.
Other potential locations included the upper campus parking lot near
the freeway, an area north of campus off Verdugo Road; and behind the
Civic Center parking lot along the flood control channel.
The next phase of study will include the feasibility and cost
projections for a structure at the different sites.
That will ultimately determine what site, if any, would be recommended
to the trustees for approval, Serot said. Construction of a structure,
however, would still be a few years off, Taylor said. "It's nothing
that's going to show up tomorrow," he said.
The project would probably not be completed until sometime in 2005, he
said.
