Winter should signal the end of construction woes for art and communication students.
The new community data center on Collegeview Road behind the Art and Communication Building is scheduled to end sometime in December, according to Christa Dickey, Westerville spokesperson.
Over the duration of the construction, access to the lot behind the building has been limited.
Instead, students have been parking across the street from the building in the 60 Collegeview Road lot.
Recently, some students’ cars have been issued tickets for parking in this lot without an Otterbein parking decal, Larry Banaszak, chief of police, said in an email interview.
Sophomore public relations major Veronica Mathias is a commuter and said she was ticketed but went to the police department and bought a parking pass in exchange for paying the ticket.
Parking passes cost $140.
Students have always been ticketed for parking in this lot without a decal, Banaszak said.
“There is no lack of parking at the communications center because there is plenty of parking across the street in the 60 Collegeview lot,” Banaszak said.
Kevin Lang, senior public relations major, commutes to class and doesn’t find the parking situation an inconvenience.
“(It) doesn’t really bother me, but it could be a safety concern for people crossing the street,” Lang said.
Last fall, the T&C reported that the project was approved by Westerville City Council on Oct. 3, 2010, and construction was set to begin in early 2011, according to Todd Jackson, chief information officer for the city of Westerville.
After construction is completed, the data center will store electronic information for numerous city departments, Westerville City Schools, the Westerville Library and any Westerville businesses that choose to lease rack space from the city.
There will be an opening ceremony for the center in the beginning of January.
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