Administration Garage switches to patient, visitor only parking
NOV. 8, 2006--In the ongoing efforts to improve the UTMB experience for patients and visitors, the Administration Garage at 8th and Market streets will shift to patient and visitor only parking during daytime business hours. The change will be effective when the new University Plaza garage opens later this month. Employees who use the after-hours parking in the garage will continue to park in the Administration Garage during the evening and night shifts.
This move is not being made without considerable thought. UTMB has been evaluating patient and public needs, as well as traffic patterns. For the next several years, the Administration Garage will continue to be the simplest and most convenient parking facility for patients and visitors.
It can be accessed from the front of the main hospital and provides good visibility and a clear route to many facilities of interest to the public and our customers. Currently, the garage is at capacity and closed to the public on as many as three occasions per week, creating difficulty for those who are frequently least familiar with our campus.
There also is considerable traffic in and around the Administration Garage and the circle drive at the start and end of the regular workday. This move should also serve to reduce that congestion and provide better access to the front of the hospital for UTMB patients and visitors.
Concentrating patient and visitor parking in the Administration Garage is good for the public, but it will also reduce institutional costs, by eliminating the need for the next several years of additional parking attendants in the University Plaza Garage.
The new University Plaza Garage is expected to be open by Nov. 20. In the next four to five years, as replacement and new clinical facilities are built around the new University Plaza Garage, UTMB will gradually shift public parking from the Administration Garage to University Plaza to meet changing patient needs.
If you have any questions, call the Parking Facilities Office at (409) 772-4786 or (409) 772-1581.