During the construction of the UPMC Events Center, parts of campus that were previously available for students who lived in off-campus dorms, Yorktown and Braddock Halls, to park have closed down.

The Lower Sewall lot is gated off during the construction of the events center and will continue to be closed until the center is finished.

“(The Lower Sewall lot) being taken away from them last year because of construction,” said Chief Randy Mink, the director of public safety. “We allowed them to park on campus in yellow spaces only, which is what the commuters park in when they come to campus. But as that parking lot opens up next year, we will go back to the same rule that was established years ago for them.”

Mink also encourages those students who live in Yorktown and Braddock to take the shuttle to campus.

“You know part of what we want students to do at Yorktown and Braddock is use the shuttle,” said Mink. “I know that sometimes it can’t happen but we want to encourage students to use the shuttle as much as they can.”

After construction wraps up, Mink expects that Robert Morris University will lose a few parking spaces but the overall situation on campus will go back to normal.

“The lot that was there is kind of shifting a little bit from the new road coming in,” said Mink. “I think I’ll lose a minimal amount of spaces. I won’t know that until I actually sit with the plans and start counting the spaces and all that but I know that it shouldn’t be too much of a change.”

Construction on the UPMC Events Center is expected to be finished and the center opens in April 2019 according to university provost David L. Jamison.

“That was optimistic that we were going to maybe get in there for the conference basketball season in January,” said Jamison. “If we’re done mid-April that’s about what we are shooting for now, so we can have graduation there. Then going forward make plans for next year.”