Oh, Elm-o-o-o-o-o-ore! When will you re-open?

Sunshine, Sat+Sun+Mon.

The secret to that puzzle is the weather. As we have posted here earlier, our very wet August and September slowed down road construction projects, not just for UAA, but for the whole city.

On the bright side, take a look at the weather forecast for the next few days. If we are in for some good dry weather, as it appears we are, then much progress will be made.

A check with UAA Facilities indicates that the news is promising. The Elmore Road roundabout construction team has  poured the last bit of concrete today, and must pave the sidewalks in the area. If the weather cooperates, the odds are looking good that work could be complete by Sunday. We aren't promising that, but we have fingers and toes crossed that the sun will stick with us for a few days and let this work proceed quickly.

In other news, in an effort to utilize some of the very unused parking on campus, the UAA Alumni Association offered to host free coffee and morning treats for three mornings in the Fine Arts parking lot,
which remains half-empty most days while drivers circle certain other lots in great frustration. The

Espresso and muffins, free for three mornings.

idea was to invite students to consider driving directly to a space they know they can get, and take advantage of the Seawolf Shuttle that stops in front of the Fine Arts Building before heading west to other campus locations. Or just hoof it to class; a little walk in the fresh air is better than driving in circles and getting frustrated, and maybe late for class.

You might call it a social re-engineering experiement. If we serve espresso, they will come. And some did. A Facilities worker who has been monitoring parking all over campus as adjustments get made, commented that the lot was at 70 percent capacity on the first day of the breakfast treats, up from a high of about 50 percent usage previously. (Always spaces available, all day long....) That is good news, but lots of spots are still going vacant all day in this lot. The lot looks to be utilized at 60-65 percent on a regular basis.

Day Loop Route can get you from Arts to West Campus.

Something that might help is understanding the Seawolf Shuttle schedule, and the fact that it leaves here headed west to other campus locations. Here is the route map. Note that on it heads west into campus on its westbound route and you can hop it rather than walk. During peak times, a third bus is added to the day loop to help with frequency. Here is a link to the Day Loop schedule (PDF) and a larger version of the map you see at right.