Watch your step. Construction on the Tuttle Park Place Garage on North Campus started last week.The added traffic and loss of sidewalks could cause an inconvenience to pedestrians and motorists. The year-long project will take place on Ives Drive next to the Northwest Garage. Sidewalks on the construction-side of the street have been closed and fences have been erected to keep students out of the construction site, said Craig Bowman, the project engineer for Kokosing Construction Co.Bowman said he is worried students will take shortcuts through the site even though the fences have been put up. When the foundation is worked on, there will be holes in the ground, which could be a danger to pedestrians.”We do have a genuine concern for everybody because students are, one way or another, our customers,” Bowman said.Kokosing is legally responsible for accidents that occur at the site during the project, he said. To ensure student and employee safety, trespassers will be arrested.”That’s a policy we’ll try to enforce because it’s not only our safety – it’s (the students’) safety,” Bowman said.Lori Seeger, project manager for the Office of University Architect and Physical Planning, said there have been no problems with students cutting through the site yet.Students also need to be aware of construction vehicles. They shouldn’t assume the operator can see them. The equipment has blind spots, Bowman said.OSU and construction traffic will be sharing Ives Drive during the project.”That’s where we get a lot of our conflicts,” Bowman said.Twenty to 30 concrete trucks will arrive at the site once a week in a four- to five-hour period April through October, he said.”It will be a little bit of an inconvenience,” said Sgt. Don Bissett, traffic supervisor and construction coordinator for the Department of Transportation and Parking.An officer will have to direct traffic when the trucks are going to the site, he said. Motorists will have about a five minute wait.After spring quarter graduation, there will be a one-way traffic pattern on Woodruff Avenue.”We’re doing the best we can to notify people,” Bissett said.The six-story garage will be complete by January 1999 and in use by February, Bowman said. It will have about 950 parking spaces.The Lantern reported last quarter that a new COP-EZ copy center, a deli and an office for Transportation and Parking Services will occupy the retail space in the garage. The garage will also have a glass elevator and stairwell for safety and visibility.A decision has not yet been made about who will be able to park at the garage, said Sarah Blouch, director of the Department of Transportation and Parking. A series of open forums will be held to address these issues. “The discussion will center around how much parking to build, where to build it, how we will pay for it, who will get to park in it, and how to improve bus services to address the needs of the university community,” Blouch said.Forums will be held:

  • 7:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Rathskeller, Pomerene Hall
  • 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the Bevis Hall auditorium
  • 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Campus Partners, 1824 N. High St.
  • 3:30 p.m. Thursday at University Hall, Room 14.