Despite ongoing criticism from students and staff alike, the University is leasing the southwest corner of Riverfront Parkway and Millrace Drive from the city to create more parking spaces for student-athletes using the John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes, according to Campus Planning and Real Estate.
The riverfront property was previously owned by the city, but the University has developed it into a parking lot bordered by the School of Architecture and Allied Arts’ Urban Farm and art studios. The lot’s proximity to the farm has raised concerns from its staff members, who once depended on the neighboring open field before it was covered with asphalt as a vital resource to plant health.
“The loss of plant habitat is always a concern,” said Harper Keeler, interim director of the Urban Farm. “Although the plants in the lot were weeds to many folks, they were very useful in providing habitat for beneficial insects, which, in turn, helps the garden.”
The Northside Parking Lot provides 150 parking spots, which will be available for student-athletes only. Parking permits for these spots cost $225 per student for winter term and $150 for spring term.
“The project did accommodate an apple tree in its design,” Campus Planning and Real Estate Project Planner Emily Eng said. “Two parking spaces were not built so that we could create a landscape island around the apple tree. Also, many of the orchard trees along the boundary between the Urban Farm and the parking lot were protected and saved. In addition, the Urban Farm will be able to plant in the area between the bike path and the parking lot. It will be planted with a native lawn cover and (the) Urban Farm will be able to plant there at its own pace.”
Keeler also said the destruction of some of the site’s larger trees will create lasting repercussions for the farm’s natural health and undermine its biodiversity.
“The newly paved area took away an established hedgerow that provided food for both people and birds,” Keeler said. “It was also a buffer zone that protected the orchard. The extensive pavement will mean that we will have to irrigate this area. The open lot provided for a collection of volunteer plants that were used to teach. Some of these were edible or medicinal and most provided flowers for bees. Birds also nested in this area. Anytime you have increased biodiversity in and around a garden, it is beneficial.”
Project planners agreed the site’s surrounding greenery was important in determining land use and said they tried to incorporate a natural aesthetic into the design of the parking lot as much as possible.
“The landscape architect was able to allocate a small amount of area for the Urban Farm to suggest planting, but the city code drastically limits what can be planted, and there is no budget for these new plants,” Keeler said.
Opponents of the parking lot’s construction have also voiced concern because the lot will be gated off and reserved only for student-athletes.
“This lot was a meeting place and allowed for delivery access to the Urban Farm,” Keeler said. “The gated lot will block this access.”
University junior lacrosse player Anna Swicklik previously told the Emerald that student-athletes need special parking spaces because they have to adhere to strict study schedules at the Jaqua Center.
“If you have a lot of tutors in a row, it would be really hard to constantly check the meter,” Swicklik said. “If we miss a tutor, we miss practice.”
Students on campus have expressed mixed feelings about the University paying for a parking lot solely for student-athletes.
“I don’t think it’s entirely fair, but maybe it’ll open up parking for the rest of the students elsewhere,” University sophomore Gary Freitas said.
[email protected]