Traffic on the UNMC/Nebraska Medicine campus continues to increase, due to the high volume of patients and visitors in addition to more than 10,000 faculty, staff and students with valid parking passes.
The increase in vehicles makes it more important than ever to exclusively reserve Lot 1 outside of the Clarkson Tower and Lot 2 adjacent to the Durham Outpatient Center for patient and visitors.
“We’re hearing from visitors that they’re unable to find parking,” said Tina Spencer, manager of the UNMC Bookstore and parking operations. “We want them to feel welcome from the moment they arrive, so it’s important there are parking spots for our patients and visitors, including during non-peak business hours and on the weekends.”
Spencer said faculty, staff and students can park in a patient/visitor lot only if they are a patient or visitor, and they must contact parking operations at (402) 559-8580 for temporary authorization.
To ensure all students and employees are able to park in their assigned parking lots, additional parking has been created on the perimeter of campus exclusively for construction workers. Ticketing is in place to make sure patients, visitors and those who are paying for parking have available spaces, regardless of the time of day.
Safety and security remain a top priority for the parking operations department. Emergency blue light phone poles located across campus and in parking lots can be used to report emergencies and contact campus security directly. Security is available to assist with dead batteries and key lockouts as well as after-hours escorts within campus parking lots. If such services are needed, dispatch can be contacted at (402) 559-5111.
The Transportation and Parking Committee continues to look for solutions for issues that were identified during this fall’s parking forums. One change is already underway: reserved parking spaces for colleagues who are on procedural call back and must report within 30 minutes. After listening to related concerns, approximately one dozen spots were designated earlier this month for clinical areas that require this support. Other solutions and suggestions, including how to reduce the number of vehicles on campus on any given day, are currently being reviewed by the committee. Watch for updates to come.
I think it is a great step turning lot 6 into a multi-level parking area, and think it should be done to at least a couple of other surface lots. We are only going to continue growing.
Also, I have seen construction personnel and visitors park frequently in lot 4 regular spaces. Even if it is "only for a moment" it has forced those paying $30 a month to spend non-productive time looking for a space in another lot.
I have also personally assisted lost visitors trying to find a specific lot number they were directed to. Perhaps permanent signage at MSC is needed to direct event or other visitors to a specific lot.
Virgie's suggestions are great!!