With the Oct. 2 vice presidential debate coming up, faculty and staff may have to make a few adjustments to their daily commuting routine.
Parking and traffic patterns will be severely disrupted beginning Thursday, Sept. 25, through Friday, Oct. 3, as thousands of guests, visitors and members of the media begin to stream into the University for the vice presidential debate. As debate day draws closer, fewer and fewer parking spaces will be available.
To help ease the pain of traffic congestion and road closures, University personnel are encouraged to find alternate modes of transportation during the days leading up the debate, including carpooling, bicycling, walking, public transportation or having another driver drop off employees near campus.
The University’s parking and transportation plans for the debate are as follows. These plans are subject to change based on requests from the Commission on Presidential Debates or security considerations. For the latest information on parking and transportation during debate week, visit parking.wustl.edu/vp_debate.htm.
Parking restrictions
The surface lot east of the Athletic Complex and south of the School of Law, Lot 31, closed Sept. 20.
Olympian Way and the roof of Snow Way Garage — Lot 33 and the roof of Lot 29 — closed at 6 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 25. After 3p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, vehicles parked in Snow Way Garage will be allowed to exit; however, no new vehicle traffic will be permitted into the garage from 3 p.m. until midnight. Also, no pedestrian traffic will be allowed on the top level.
Lot 28, the lot north of the Athletic Complex, also closed at 6 a.m Sept. 20. This affected approximately 297 parking spaces.
Portions of the top level of Millbrook Garage will be unavailable for general parking beginning Monday, Sept. 28, through Wednesday, Oct. 1. A minimum of 414 spaces will be unavailable for general parking Oct. 2. That number may increase as the debate approaches.
Lot 61 at West Campus will be closed Wednesday, Oct. 1, through Friday, Oct. 3.
Additional parking closures and restrictions take place Oct. 2, including Lot 35, which is directly south of Simon Hall. Be aware that other smaller space reservations may occur around campus throughout the week — signage will indicate which spaces are unavailable.
In addition, no parking will be permitted on the following streets the day of the debate: Forsyth Boulevard from Skinker Boulevard to Big Bend Boulevard, and Brookings Drive.
Daily parking passes will not be honored Oct. 2 — only those with annual permits will be allowed to park on the Danforth Campus.
Parking will be available at West Campus, and faculty and staff can use a U-Pass to take MetroLink to the Danforth Campus. The MetroLink from West Campus will run on its normal schedule.
To sign up for a U-Pass, visit parking.wustl.edu/metro.htm.
Street closings
Thursday, Oct. 2, will see many closures of streets surrounding the Danforth Campus.
At 9 a.m., Big Bend will be closed from Forsyth to Forest Park Parkway. Westmoreland Place, Maryland Avenue and Lindell Avenue all will be closed at Big Bend.
At 11 a.m., Forsyth will be closed at Skinker and Big Bend. Traffic on Forsyth will be limited to campus traffic exiting the campus to the east toward Skinker and campus and debate traffic moving west from Hoyt Drive to Wallace Drive. Eastbound traffic on Forsyth from Hanley Road will be permitted to travel to Big Bend and then southbound. Northbound traffic on Big Bend will be permitted to travel to Forsyth and then westbound.
By mid-afternoon, Big Bend will close from Forsyth to Wydown Boulevard. Forsyth also will close to all traffic at Asbury Avenue. Local traffic will be permitted on Forsyth between Asbury and Jackson Avenue.
In addition, access to the Danforth Campus will be severely limited Oct. 2. The only way to access the Danforth Campus on debate day will be to take Skinker to Brookings Drive.
Traffic between Hoyt and Wallace on Forsyth will be limited to University traffic only. No traffic will be permitted between Hoyt and Skinker on Forsyth.
Traffic may exit, but not enter, campus at Hoyt and Forest Park Parkway and at Throop and Forest Park Parkway.
Snow Way Drive between Throop Drive and Snow Way Garage will be limited to VIP and law enforcement officials with proper credentials after 3 p.m. Oct. 2. Snow Way Drive west of Snow Way Garage will be closed to traffic.
Traffic also will be restricted in the South 40 area of campus. All traffic accessing the South 40 will enter through Wydown or Wallace and Forsyth. The Shepley Drive entrance at Big Bend will close by 3 p.m. Oct. 2. At 10 a.m., a two-way traffic plan will be implemented on Shepley Drive. All northbound traffic on Wallace will be blocked near Lot 48. Two-way traffic on Shepley will be blocked just west of Lot 54.
Other changes
Public and campus transportation routines also will be altered. MetroBus service to campus, Forsyth and Big Bend will end at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 2.
Access to MetroBus service will be available at Skinker and Forest Park Parkway. A Metro representative will be at the stop to answer questions about service, and Metro will post signs at Mallinckrodt Student Center to advise riders of schedule changes.
The University-operated Campus Circulator will provide service from Lot 4 to Mallinckrodt from 10 a.m. until the end of its normal schedule Oct. 2.
Metro will resume its normal schedule Oct. 3.
Also of note:
• Pedestrian access to the campus Oct. 2 will be primarily limited to Skinker and Brookings, Throop and Forest Park Parkway and Wydown at Wallace.
• Any visitors coming to campus should be made aware of parking restrictions. Faculty and staff may consider rescheduling appointments or moving meetings to locations away from the Danforth Campus during the days leading up to the debate.
• Remember, due to increased security, access to the Danforth Campus Oct. 1 and 2 will be limited to students, faculty and staff with a University ID card or to those individuals who are guests of the Chancellor or the Commission on Presidential Debates.
All persons should carry and be prepared, upon request, to show a valid, current University ID card.
For the most recent information regarding the debate, visit debate.wustl.edu.