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The University of Maine is taking a step to help alleviate parking issues on campus. With the new Recreation Center and the influx of freshmen this year, the Hilltop parking lot is now strapped for available parking spaces. An expansion is in the near future and renovations that will require blasting and drilling will begin in late September. The parking lot is going to be expanded in the back to include an entirely new section of extra parking spaces. This project has been in the works since early July.
First-year students were warned during orientation that parking could be an issue, but it does not appear that many chose to heed the warning.
The work will be done over two separate weeks with drilling on Thursday, Sept. 27 and Friday, Sept. 28. It will continue on Thursday, Oct. 4 and Oct. 5.
The drilling process will not require the parking lot to be cleared out, however the blasting will. The blasting will occur on the weekend of Sept. 29-30 and during fall break from Oct. 6-9.
It is required that the parking lot be cleared, with the exception of the southernmost three rows, from 11:59 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28 until 8 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 30. The lot must be empty, with the same exception of the southernmost three rows, during fall break from 11:59 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5 until 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9.
According to Ron Brown, the Project Manager and Staff Associate for Engineering Services, the blasting is required to remove large lumps of ledge. He estimated the crew would need to blast through about 1100 yards of ledge in order to fully landscape a flat surface for the lot. The blasting will begin at daylight.
The blasting times were specifically designed to be able to work around people’s schedules, but obviously they will not be able to accommodate everyone. The safety of students is the number one concern of the grounds crew and those who will be working on the parking lot.
Brown stresses the importance of students removing their cars. If need be, the construction crew will not hesitate to tow any car at the student’s expense. Brown warned, “Please get your cars out. We don’t want anyone to have to pay [for towing].”
Dylan Smith, a first-year explorations major, who lives in Oxford Hall and parks in the Hilltop lot said, “I’m not going to be here during fall break so I don’t really care about that, but I don’t know where I’m going to park if I have to move the first weekend.”
