Parking and Transportation News

Thompson Street Parking Structure Annex Project

Parking During Construction

Construction of the new addition to the Thompson St. (W3) Parking Structure began on May 4, 2009. The initial phase of construction work rebuilt the Thompson Street entrance, providing new wider entry/exit lanes, a reversible center lane, a motorcycle lane and pedestrian walkways on each side of the drive lane.

The reversible center lane is now operational, with two entrance lanes in the morning and two exit lanes in the afternoon.

The project will provide additional (and enclosed) motorcycle parking and secured, enclosed parking for 50 bicycles. Throughout the project, a pedestrian walkway will be maintained on the South side of the parking structure for those traveling between Division St. and Thompson St.

Phase I is complete, with the Thompson St. entrance re-opened on May 26. The west side driveway, on Division St., is now permanently closed for construction of the new parking structure addition and office building.

Utility work on Division Street is now complete. The sidewalk of the East side of Division is scheduled to re-open later in the week of July 6.

Construction of the new parking deck addition and office building facing Division Street is scheduled to be completed in the Fall, 2010. For information about the construction project, see the AEC website at http://www.umaec.umich.edu/projects/Thompson/index.html.

The project will result in several other changes to the area's parking during construction. The following parking along Division Street and on Thompson Street will be closed:

• Gravel parking lot W2 with 17 Blue permit and 12 UM Business Vehicle parking spaces
• Restricted parking lot W8 with 20 spaces
• Motorcycle parking lot W7, behind Thompson Structure on the Division Street exit drive
• In the parking structure, all spaces on the west side on all levels and the entire basement, approximately 200 spaces. These closures are necessary to accommodate construction of the connectors between the existing and new decks and for safety reasons. [Note: These closures will occur throughout Phase I; all spaces will not be closed on the first day.]
  • Parking on the east side of the west row and the up-ramps on all levels will remain open.
• Motorcycle parking in lot W18 (mixed-use lot south of the structure), adjacent to the (former) Parking Customer Services office

In order to partially accommodate these impacts, we plan to make the following changes:

• Lot W18 will be reconfigured to provide an additional 20 Blue permit and 9 University Business Vehicle spaces. 41 Visitor spaces will remain.
• The motorcycle parking from lots W7 and W18 will be relocated to lot W13, on Thompson St. north of Jefferson St.
• 4 spaces in the structure will be converted from Blue to Gold parking because of the loss of lot W8, and Gold parking will be relocated to the east side of the ramp from level 1 to 2 and to the south end of level 2.
  • On Regents meeting days, 8 Gold spaces will be reserved for their use.

Net impact on Blue Permit parking during construction:

Blue Permit spaces permanently closed	217
Plus Blue Permit spaces converted to Gold parking	4
Minus Blue Permit spaces gained via conversion of other spaces	20
Net loss of Blue Permit spaces	201

 

Given the fact that there will be a net loss of total spaces in this area during construction, we suggest the following parking alternatives:

• Alternative visitor parking is available in lot W5, behind the LS&A Building on Maynard, and in the Maynard City parking structure.
• Blue Permit parking is available in neighboring UM parking structures: Fletcher St. Parking Structure (N13) with an average of 175 vacant Blue spaces and Palmer Dr. Parking Structure (N26) with an average of 168 vacant Blue spaces.

Parking on campus during the construction will be challenging, so we encourage Blue permit parkers to consider the following additional options:

• Blue parking is available on South Campus in lot SC12 (Greene @ Hill Streets) and lot SC2 (Hoover @ Greene Streets) with 10 minute bus service via the Northbound Commuter. Board at the Administrative Services Building on Greene @ Hoover and deboard on State Street across from the Michigan Union.
• Consider exchanging Blue for Yellow permits, and park in lot SC9 (Coliseum lot on Hill @ Division). This location is a short walk from the west side of Central Campus and offers significant financial savings.
• Consider exchanging Blue for Orange permits and save even more! Park at lot SC7 (east of Crisler Arena), and take the Northbound Commuter that runs every 10 minutes to Central Campus.

The Thompson addition will provide a net parking gain of 273 spaces when completed. Your patience and understanding during construction will be appreciated. If you have special parking needs you would like to discuss with us, please contact Parking Customer Services at umpark@umich.edu

Posted: 04/23/2009
Updated: 07/2/2009

AATA Announces New, Affordable Fares for Art Fair Shuttle Service

The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) has announced that this year's shuttle bus service to the Ann Arbor Art Fairs, which will be held July 15-18, will operate at new rates for its passengers.

The new fares are $1.25 each way for adults; and $.60 each way for K-12 students and AATA Fare Deal cardholders. AATA Senior and A-Ride cardholders can ride for free, as well as children ages five and younger. Full- and half-fare tickets will be sold at ticket booths at both Briarwood and Pioneer High School during shuttle hours.

AATA bus passes, Mcards, Washtenaw Community College transit passes and go! passes are not valid for the Art Fair shuttle service.

Free parking for the shuttles is available near the Sears store at Briarwood Mall, located off State Street and Eisenhower Parkway, and at Pioneer High School, on Main Street near Stadium Boulevard.

AATA Art Fair Shuttles will run every 10 to 15 minutes from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, and on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

For more information, visit AATA's website.

Posted: 07/2/2009
Updated:

Parking Enforcement Suspended July 3-4

Parking enforcement will be suspended for permits and meter fees in all U-M parking structures and lots Friday, July 3 and Saturday, July 4, except for the Mott/Simpson Circle Dr. (M22) Parking Structure, Cancer Center/North Entrance (M15) Parking Structure and CVC (M85) Parking Structure, which will maintain regular operations.

Special signed spaces (Gold, UM Service Vehicle, UM Business Vehicle, Handicap, etc.) will require the appropriate permit at all times.

 

 

Posted: 07/1/2009
Updated:

Independence Day Transit Schedule

Transit Services will not operate bus service on Friday, July 3rd, in observance of Independence Day. Regular service will resume Saturday, July 4th, as normal.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted: 06/19/2009
Updated:

AATA Independence Day Schedule

ANN ARBOR, MI - The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority will not operate regular fixed-route bus service, A-Ride paratransit, or senior taxi services on Saturday, July 4, 2009 in observance of the Independence Day holiday. Regular bus, paratransit and senior taxi services will resume on Sunday, July 5.

AATA administrative offices at 2700 South Industrial Highway will be open on Friday, July 3 and Monday, July 6. The Blake and Ypsilanti Transit Centers will also be closed on July 4 and reopen for regular business hours on July 6.

Passengers may take advantage of AATA’s Holiday Ride shared-ride taxi service on July 4 for $5 a person. Seniors and persons with disabilities with an AATA identification card may ride for $2.50.

The Holiday Ride taxi service operates only within the city limits of Ann Arbor. To schedule a Holiday Ride trip, call 734.528.5432.

Bus route, schedule and detour information is available at 734.996.0400 or on AATA’s Web Site at www.TheRide.org.

Posted: 06/17/2009
Updated:

Taubman Structure (Parking A) Space Closure

The Taubman Structure (Parking A) is scheduled for concrete repairs beginning Monday, June 15 to August 30. The majority of the construction will take place on Levels 1A and 2 on the North deck and will be done in two phases. There will be approximately 120 spaces closed during the construction.

During the first phase of the project (June 15-July 10), the north entrance lanes will be restricted to disabled parkers ONLY (lanes closest to the Taubman Center) and all others patient & visitors will enter through the south entrances. The project will not impact employees that participate in special M18 parking programs; they will continue to enter in Lanes 9 and 10. Traffic monitors and signs will posted to assist patients and visitors.

During the second phase, the north entrance will re-open, but we will continue to control some parking spaces.

We appreciate your patience during this project.

Posted: 06/11/2009
Updated: