Construction work and geothermal well drilling continue on the portion of the reservoir parking where the Performing Arts Center is slated to be built on Dec. 9. ALEX LUTHI / GUARDSMAN

By Arcel Cunanan
Staff Writer

The board of trustees approved the Balboa Reservoir land exchange on Nov. 20, which will allow the construction of the Joint Use Facility and Performing Arts Center on the Ocean campus to continue as scheduled, said James Blomquist, associate vice chancellor of facilities planning / management.

With the construction happening in the reservoir, available parking spaces have been reduced from 2094 to 1700 and a new entrance was added to the north end. To offset the reduction of parking in the reservoir, an additional 340 parking spaces have been created for students and faculty where the old North and South gymnasiums once stood.

The spaces are distributed among Lot “N” and “S”, which are in the same spots as the old North and South gymnasiums. Lot “N” is reserved for faculty and staff parking Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Lot “S” is available for students throughout the week when the campus is open. Blomquist recommends this as an alternative to parking the reservoir.

Even though the construction has rerouted parking and traffic on the Ocean campus, Blomquist said he has not received any complaints regarding the project.

Also under construction are 400 geothermal wells for the buildings new eco-friendly heating and cooling systems. In total, 300 wells have already been dug, with each well being 400 feet deep said Blomquist. Piping for 50 of the wells are complete, and the foundation for the joint use building will be laid this month.

“After all the piping is installed they are networked to an underground vault where they are collected and then routed to the central plant. The central plant is a room in the basement of the Joint Use Facility under construction currently,” said Blomquist. “The water that has circulated through the wells is heated or cooled in the central plant and then routed to the various buildings that the plant will serve.”

City College psychology major Josh Motta drives to school Monday, Wednesday and Friday and parks in the reservoir. Other than the expected pedestrian versus driver battle at the crosswalks, Motta has had no problems with finding a parking spot. As far as construction goes “I haven’t noticed any changes,” he said. “The way the reservoir is set up now is a lot better than how it was before. It is difficult to go when people are crossing the street. I could care less about the center entrance because I like to use the entrance closest to Riordan. The center is where the most traffic happens because of the amount of pedestrians, drivers, and the stoplights.”

City College already has the permits for the Joint Use Facility and the bidding process for the building is underway. Bidding for projects, like the Joint Use facility, are broken up into components of the building. Subcontracts for individual components like steel, concrete, flooring, dry wall and painting are advertised publicly to contractors. The contractors in turn provide an estimated price for one or more of the projects.

Generally, the lowest bid is awarded the contract, said Blomquist.

The next step in construction will be to install traffic signals at the south and north ends of Phelan Avenue. The new traffic signals will improve the flow of traffic and pedestrian safety, according to the department of Facilities Planning / Management.

Once the signals are in place, the center entrance to the reservoir will be closed and more focus will be put on traffic on the north end. The construction of the signals should be completed by the beginning of the Spring 2009 semester, said Blomquist.

Lina Lee, 22
Biology Major

“Since it’s still the first two weeks of school and you don’t have to pay yet, it’s not really affecting me. Traffic is always bad for the first couple weeks. It should get better.”

Anthony Reid, 20
Architectural Design Major

“In the back of the reservoir, it used to come to a ledge and I used to jump it with my motorcycle. I miss it, but it’s better now that there’s less open space. People won’t spin doughnuts—it’s safer.”

Joan Tuohy, 39
Nursing Major

“My class is at 8am, so it’s probably not affecting me as much as it does other people that start at 9 or 9:30. I usually get a spot close to the street on the new upper level.”

Fred Silva, 38
Drug and Alcohol Certification

“It hasn’t really affected me. They’re doin’ what they have to do. People always complain about parking, so they have to do something about it.”

Alicia Chambers, 22
Nursing Major

“It’s made more parking, but it’s hard if you get here between 11 and noon. You have to plan to get come earlier or later.”

Marco Zamudio, 19
Undecided

“It hasn’t really affected me because I park off campus or I drive my motorcycle. It really hasn’t been an issue.”

Wendy Figeroa, 30
Nursing Major

“I come really early in the morning, at like 7am, just so I can park. There’s no one here that early, so it’s easy.”

By Ellen Silk-Editor

Construction of the new joint use facility has temporarily cut student parking in half and is limiting access to areas of the Ocean campus during the 2008 Summer Session according to James Blomquist, associate vice chancellor of facilities, planning/management.

The new building will be shared with students from San Francisco State University and will house programs such as teacher preparation, as well as other programs jointly taught at both colleges.

According to Blomquist, students will have 1500 parking spaces in the reservoir once the fall semester begins. This is 500 parking spaces less than before the start of construction. The demolition of the old gyms will add 300 more parking spaces and bring total student parking to 1800 spots on Ocean campus. The new parking area, said Blomquist, will help relieve spaces lost in the reservoir. The 700 and 600 bungalows will remain at least until the joint use facility is completed in 2010.

“Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to use mass transit as much as possible — especially the first couple of weeks of the semester when traffic is heaviest,” said Blomquist in a press release issued in May 2008.

The demolition of the gyms will also cut off pedestrian access behind the football field.

“The area bounded by East Road (east), Havelock (north), Lot D (south) and the West Road (west) will be a construction zone. Access to this area will be for construction crews and fire crews only. Pedestrian or vehicular access will be allowed for emergency purposes only,” stated an email to the City College community.

During the demolition period, the message said, Havelock Street will be open to vehicles and foot traffic and allow temporary pedestrian access to the tennis courts. Students going to the 700 bungalows and tennis courts will have to travel along the north side of the field and through Batmale hall.

“We hope to have the parking available by the first day of classes in the fall,” said Blomquist.

Noise could possibly be an issue for students and staff in the bungalows but Blomquist said construction noise could be limited to times when classes are not in session.

“Primary construction traffic will be on and off Ocean Avenue, not Phelan Avenue, which will also help. Traffic on Phelan Avenue will be impacted temporarily while new signalized crosswalks are installed, but that work will be done in off-hours to the extent feasible,” said Blomquist.