Students driving to campus will soon find their hunt for a parking space slightly more time consuming. The Department of Public Safety will begin zoning off sections of the South Lot for paving sometime within the next several weeks.

The blocked off sections should include about 50 spaces on average, so the majority of the lot is planned to still be open. Construction was set to begin Sept. 17, but has been postponed for a slightly later date.

Philip O’Donnell, Chief Director of Public Safety, said, “Some spaces will be lost temporarily, but in the long run, there will be a net-gain of spaces.”

Roughly 200 spaces are involved in the reconstruction in the South Lot, and much of the dirt and gravel is going to be moved to the A Lot, next to the JFK Museum.

Completion is set for mid-December at the latest, and students will then have full access to both the South Lot and the A Lot.

During paving, the A Lot should remain open for student parking. Though pursuing the perfect parking spot may prove slightly more difficult during this “transition period,” O’Donnell reassures that students will “still have ample parking available.”

After the first week of school, a number of students become aware of the benefits of public transportation and opt for a T-Pass, rather than a semester parking pass. O’Donnell commented on the steady decrease expected in cars driven to campus, and expects that within a few weeks time, students should have little problem finding a place to park, regardless of construction.