Construction on Pony Field will soon provide a temporary parking lot for UF commuters who normally park across the street.
Starting June 1, commuter parking will move from the Small Commuter Lot on the east side of Gale Lemerand Drive to the new temporary lot across the street at Pony Field, said Scott Fox, director of UF's Transportation and Parking Services.
The temporary lot will allow for the construction of the new Southwest Parking Garage Complex, which will cover the existing Small Commuter Lot.
The Small Commuter Lot offers about 300 parking spaces, said Jeff Bair, project manager for Pony Field construction.
Pony Field will be paved and the temporary lot will provide about 175 spaces to offset those lost to the garage construction, Bair said.
"We don't want students and faculty to suffer any more than they have to," he said.
Fox said people who use the Small Commuter Lot are commuter-decal owners and some faculty and staff.
"Commuter lots are precious parking spaces," he said.
"It is necessary that we provide alternative spots for commuters."
The construction of the temporary lot has a $340,000 budget, he said.
The Pony Field lot will stay open for about one year until parking shifts back across the street to the Southwest Parking Garage.
The garage is scheduled to be completed by summer 2009, Fox said.
The garage project will cost about $20 million.
Once the garage opens, UF's Physical Plant Division will return Pony Field to a completely grass lot, Bair said.
Early site work for the garage is slated to begin in June.
The garage is expected to provide about 950 parking spaces - roughly 620 more than before, Fox said.
Fox said parking designations for the garage are still undecided but will likely be a mix of students, faculty, commuters and faculty carpoolers.
