Reporter Volume 25, No.9 October 28, 1993

By MARK WALLACE
Reporter Staff

The Office of Campus Parking and Transportation Services this week
opened its new Visitor Parking and Information Center at the entrance
to the Center for Tomorrow Parking Lot.
	The center will feature a reception area where visitors may
browse through a variety of informational literature about UB, while
waiting for shuttle service to the academic core of the North Campus,
said Carmela Thompson, director of the Office of Campus Parking and
Information Services. Up-to-date information about campus events,
transportation services, and special parking accommodations, as well
as directory assistance and campus maps, will be available at the
center, Thompson said. The center will be open 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday.
	According to Thompson, the center has three basic objectives:
to enhance visitor parking and related services by offering
convenient, easy-to-find parking accommodations; to improve public
relations with the surrounding community; and to centralize visitor
parking so that more parking spaces can be freed for use by faculty,
staff and students.
	RBy centralizing visitor parking, we hope to free spaces in
impacted lots along the UB spine,S Thompson said. RAnd the center will
also enhance the image of the university to its visitors. Visitors get
lost here all the timeQthey donUt know where to go or what to do. By
having someone who can answer their questions, we will give them a
better impression of UB.S
	In connection with the opening of the center, parking shuttle
hours will be expanded, with service now from 7:45 a.m. to 8 p.m.,
Monday through Thursday, and until 5:45 p.m. on Fridays, Thompson
said. 
	RThe center will help achieve better coordination and
management of the parking shuttle,S she said. RBy having the shuttle
depart from a staffed lot, we can now communicate with users if
anything goes wrong with the shuttle.
	RWeUre going to encourage people to re-think their attitudes
about shuttles. Many large campuses have shuttlesQitUs simply seen as
necessary. People may now find it easier to use the shuttle, and we
encourage them to use it.S
	The Center For Tomorrow Lot will operate as a paid parking lot
for all visitors (and non-visitors). In addition, the Fronczak and
Arena Lots will continue to offer paid parking for visitors.