Proposed structure under fire

By Josh Wolf
Daily Bruin Contributor

The proposal to build a parking structure under the Intramural
Field has public transportation advocates at odds with
Transportation Services.

While Transportation Services is looking to the proposed
structure to alleviate some of UCLA’s parking problems,
advocates of the BruinGo! pilot bus program that provides free
transportation to anyone with a BruinCard say money should go
toward funding the program for years to come.

Transportation Services is financing BruinGo! at the cost of $1
million this year.

Differences over the need for more parking have fueled ongoing
debate between faculty, students, local homeowners and the
administration.

“UCLA doesn’t need more parking, it needs more
options for students,” said Patrick Horton, a graduate
student and BruinGo! advocate.

But associate vice chancellor of business and finance Sam
Morabito said the university must take other factors into
account.

“Parking is about more than students and parking permits,
it’s about everything that goes on at UCLA,” he
said.

Construction plans call for the 24-month long excavation and
building of a two-level, 1,500-space parking structure under the IM
field at the cost of $44 million.

The IM field would be unavailable to students during
construction but would be rebuilt with improvements at the end of
the project.

The building of the new structure is part of a plan by UCLA
officials to reduce the number of students on the waiting list for
parking permits after the destruction of Lot 14 last year to make
way for the new Ronald Reagan Hospital.

If the new parking structure is approved, the UCLA Medical
Center will pay Transportation Services $11 million to defray the
costs. All other funding would come from an increase in parking
permit rates.

Mark Stocki, director of Transportation Services, said the IM
field parking structure would replace all of the lost parking
spaces.

In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act, the
university commissioned the preparation of an Environmental Impact
Report to evaluate the environmental aspects of the proposed
project. A public hearing was held Wednesday to accept public
comments on the potential environmental effects outlined in the
Draft Environmental Impact Report, prepared by EIP Associates and
Crain and Associates.

Members of the UCLA community, ranging from graduate students to
professors, including representatives of CalPIRG and the
Environmental Coalition, as well as homeowners from surrounding
neighborhoods presented comments.

The most vocal group were advocates of the bus pass program.

Faculty and students alike asked Transportation Services to
consider enhancing the BruinGo! program to reduce the need for
parking by providing an alternative method of transportation.

Stocki stressed in an interview after the meeting that funding
BruinGo! and the parking proposal are independent projects.

His department needs to accommodate more than just students, he
said. For faculty and staff, driving to work may be more feasible
than other options, and adequate parking should be provided. Also,
people visiting conferences, campus events or performances need to
be factored into the decision, he continued.

BruinGo! advocates questioned whether, as the draft EIR states,
“expanding parking availability in the central campus where
demand is greatest” should be one of the project
objectives.

Donald Shoup, professor of urban planning and advocate of the
BruinGo! program, referred to a 1998 EIR which stated that UCLA can
either “increase the supply of parking or decrease the demand
for parking” to achieve its goals. As students testified to
the success of the BruinGo! system in alleviating their
transportation needs, they argued that BruinGo! is a logical
alternative to more parking.

Shoup said the draft EIR ignored the BruinGo! program.

“The draft EIR for the Intramural Field considers only
other parking structures as alternatives. Because continuing
BruinGo! is a feasible way to mitigate the vehicle travel and
vehicle emissions created by use of the new parking spaces, it is
untrue to say that no mitigation measures are available to
UCLA,” he said.

But Stocki said there is a real need for expanded campus
parking, and the proposed project addresses this need.

Local homeowners also took issue with the draft EIR. Community
representatives spoke of the impossibility of the traffic numbers
given by the report. They said filling the1,500 new parking places
would have a negative impact on traffic flow in their neighborhoods
that was not accurately depicted in the report.

Martin Kaplan, a local homeowner, expressed disapproval of any
changes that would result from the new project.

“You’re taking a situation that is already
intolerable and just making it worse,” he said.

Travis Longcore, a lecturer in the geography department who
teaches a class on environmental impact analysis, raised the most
direct environmental concern. He questioned the thoroughness of the
storm water analysis in relation to the Clean Water Act.

“There’s no analysis in the storm water section at
all. It’s completely devoid of scientific analysis,” he
said.

The draft EIR is open to public comments until March 9, at which
point a final EIR will be prepared for presentation to the UC Board
of Regents in May. If approved, excavation of the site could begin
in late June and be completed by the beginning of fall quarter.

“The situation presents a very complex set of
circumstances,” Morabito said.

PROJECT IMPACTS AND MITIGATIONS Key
impacts and mitigations of the Intramural Fields Parking Structure
Project were published in the Draft Environmental Impact
Report.

LS=Less-than-significant
S=Significant

Impact Significance
Mitigation measure Project would preclude
recreational and other use of the Intramural Field during
construction. S North Athletic Field shall be illuminated to permit
recreational use during evening hours. Project would temporarily
disrupt pedestrian and vehicular and circulation on the vicinity of
the project site. LS A single traffic lane on Charles E. Young
Drive North will be maintained at all times. Pedestrians will be
redirected to the northern side of Charles E. Young Drive North.
Noise generated by construction activities would result in
short-term impacts. S Construction equipment shall be equipped with
noise muffling devices. Construction shall be limited to the hours
of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on
Saturday. Increased electricity consumption of approximately
1,330,000 kilowatt hours per year will result from operation of the
Intramural Field Parking Structure. LS None required. SOURCE: Draft
Environmental Impact Report Original by MAGGIE WOO / Daily Bruin
Web adaptation by MONICA KWONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff