After eight months of construction, the parking garage at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church opened to St. John’s on Monday, March 20. Students who have been parking at the Caven lot with their registered parking sticker will be allowed to use the new garage.

 “I watched the construction for most of this year, and I was really excited when they finally opened it up today,” junior Ian Toubin said.

With one level underground and three above, the garage has 475 parking spots. From Mondays through Saturdays, St. John’s will have access to 250 parking spots, while St. Luke’s will have 100 spaces. The remaining 125 spaces will operate on a first-come, first-served basis. On Sundays, St. Luke’s will have sole access of the garage until 1:00 p.m.

 “We made a 50-year agreement to share the garage with St. Luke’s,” said Greg Swan, Director of Finance and Operations. “The garage is located on our property, but the entrances to the garage are only accessible through St. Luke’s.”

The garage has no reserved parking spaces and requires the same gate code used for all other driving gates on campus. While parents and faculty may access the garage from the Taub surface parking lot, students must use the St. Luke’s entrances on either West Alabama or Westheimer.

“The new garage is nice and definitely an upgrade, but I think the school should have been more clear in communicating the parking procedure, especially with all the construction,” junior Andrew Wan said.

 Although Caven lot will still be available for student parking, there will no longer be a shuttle to transport students from Caven to the Upper School.

 “Everything about this is easier,” junior Avery Morris said. “Now I don’t have to rely on other people, like students arriving late for the shuttle.”

 The proximity of the garage to school has made traveling more convenient for students.

 “The garage is much closer, which is great because I live really far away,” Morris said. “It makes things a lot less stressful.”