After the lengthy construction of the new Science Center, Montgomery College is once again asking students to pardon their dust.  As the renovation for Science East building begins this semester, students will have to be patient as several changes that might make getting around campus more difficult this year.

Upon entering the campus, students will notice that the parking lots are undergoing a bit of an identity crisis. The student spaces in front of the Campus Center are now all reserved for staff.  While that may seem unfair, the spaces had to be commandeered to accommodate the staff spaces of lot 11 taken up by construction vehicles and machinery in front of the Science Center.

In addition to the parking complications, access around the campus will also be limited.  A chain link fence prevents student and faculty traffic on the sidewalk from lot 11 leading to Science West.   People needing to access Science West will have to detour between Macklin Tower and the Computer Science building, or from West Campus Drive.

But these inconveniences will pay off in the form of a newly renovated Science East building, an updated facility similar in design to the new Science Center.  The renovations will last for two years and once they are complete, work will commence on Science West.  Science West will be the third to receive an overhaul, completing the trio state of the art science and mathematics facilities approximately four years from now.

    Parking relief is on the way though.  The old tennis courts by the Physical Education building have been transformed into additional parking for the student body.  “The new parking lot is having perimeter fencing installed this week. It should be fully open for use next week,” said Associate Vice President for College Facilities David Capp.  This is great news for those of us who drive to school and struggle to find parking during peak hours.
The new semester has just begun and already parking spaces have become a precious commodity.  Relief is on the way with a new lot still set to open, and though the campus welcomes students to the familiar sights and sounds of construction zones, the end product will be a new facilities that students can further their higher education.