Administrative Changes Take Place
Kim Fort has been named as director of Finance and Budget for the Office of the Provost, effective March 14. Fort, who has been with UAB for 17 years, has served as director of Parking and Transportation Services since 1998.
In her new role, Fort will be responsible for overseeing all financial reporting and budgeting functions under the purview of the provost. She also will provide critical operational support to UAB colleges and schools in financial planning, budgetary guidance, expenditure tracking and analysis and finance/budget-related training.
Andre Davis, who came to UAB in 1999 and most recently has been director of Business and Auxiliary Services, has been named interim director of Parking and Transportation Services, also effective March 14. Most recently Davis has been responsible for the bookstore and Radio Paging as well as financial reporting for Business Services.
Remote Shuttle Updates Effective Nov. 1
In the past year, UAB Parking & Transportation has met with employees who park in remote lots and listened to feedback from a variety of patrons. As a result, we have made improvements to the shuttle system that go into effect Nov. 1. The new schedule can be found here.
Extended Hours
The shuttle operating hours have changed to 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. (from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.) with the final drop at Remote 2 at 8:04 p.m. and Remote 1 at 8:17 p.m. Individuals can call for an escort to Remote 1 or 2 after 8 p.m. by dialing 205/934-8772.
Improved Frequency
The two current routes (Regular and Express) have been combined to offer five- and 10-minute service for longer periods throughout the day and to shorten the duration of the 20-minute service. To summarize, timing on the attached schedule is:
- 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. – 10 minute
- 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. – 5 minute
- 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. – 10 minute
- 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. – 20 minute
- 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. – 5 minute
- 6:00 p.m. to 8 p.m. – 10 minute
Pick-Up Points
Along with changing hours and frequency, we listened to feedback and modified our pick-up points as well. We have consolidated a few points to improve the speed of our service. In addition, our points will now end at
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Pick-Up Points |
Current |
New |
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6th Avenue South and 15th Street (Cooper Green) |
* |
|
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6th Avenue South and 17th Street (Spain, CPM, WIC)1 |
* |
* |
|
6th Avenue South and 19th Street (NP, SW) |
* |
* |
|
|
* |
|
|
|
* |
* |
| 20th Street South and 7th Avenue (Administration, SDB, MCLM, THT) |
* |
|
|
University Boulevard and |
* |
|
|
University Boulevard and |
|
* |
|
University Boulevard and |
* |
|
|
University Boulevard and |
* |
|
1This pick-up point is located at 5th Avenue South and 16th Street until the completion of the Children’s Hospital tunnel underneath 6th Avenue South.
Staff will be on-hand in the mornings at both remote parking lots to assist with the transition the week of Nov. 1. If you have any questions regarding the remote system, please contact Transportation Manager Karen Moody at 205/934-8044 or the main office at 205/934-3513.
6th Avenue Deck To Change Cashier Hours
Effective August 1, 2010, the Sixth Avenue Parking deck will have new hours of operation. The deck will be staffed from 8am – 10pm. weekdays. Cashier hours at the exit gate will be from 8am – 5pm. After 5pm, kiosks at the exit become self-pay stations and will accept only cash, credit card, or tickets stamped with a validator. An ambassador will be available at the exit from 5pm – 10pm to assist customers with issues exiting the deck. Please keep in mind that the ambassador is not a cashier and will not be able to accept cash, checks, credit cards, or any tickets stamped using a rubber stamp. The weekends wil still operate the same, with $3 to exit the facility.
City-Wide Ban On Texting While Driving Includes UAB
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The Birmingham City Council has voted unanimously to ban texting while driving on city streets — an edict that includes the UAB campus.The ordinance sets a $100 fine for drivers caught texting. It goes into effect Aug. 1. UAB employees and students should be aware of the new ordinance and not text while driving, says UAB Chief of Police Anthony Purcell. He says the UAB Police Department can and will enforce the measure. "It's a city ordinance, and any ordinance passed by the city council is enforceable by all law enforcement," Purcell says. "If we see someone driving erratically and about to cause an accident or get somebody hurt, certainly we'll make the appropriate stops like we always do. And if we find out they were texting while driving, we'll take the appropriate action."Purcell and his staff are discussing how to handle texting while driving traffic stops initially, especially with a large number of people returning to campus for fall classes after summer break. He says the department may issue warnings during August, if the situation warrants it. "For the first 30 days it goes into effect we may just give a warning - if we can," he says. "It's appropriate to give a warning once a new ordinance or law is enacted if possible. It's part of educating our community - especially those who may not know about it." Distracted driving caused by cell phones, texting or use of other technologies is epidemic, according to officials at the UAB University Transportation Center (UAB UTC). UAB hosted the state's first distracted driving summit this past December to bring together leaders in transportation, policy, law enforcement and science to discuss how to reduce motor-vehicle crashes resulting from distracted driving through legislation, enforcement, public awareness and education. The summit followed a national meeting called by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood in September 2009 and attended by Russ Fine, Ph.D., director of the UAB UTC, and Despina Stavrinos, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow and co-organizer of the Alabama summit. LaHood was the keynote speaker at the Alabama summit. An estimated 800,000 vehicles were driven by someone using a cell phone in 2008, according to statistics gathered by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Six thousand people died in distracted-driving-related vehicle crashes, and 500,000 were injured. The America Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that seven out of 10 drivers admit to texting while driving. Statistics also show that almost 50 percent of all drivers ages 18 to 24 are texting while driving, and drivers who use cell phones are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves, according to the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration. One national study reported distraction from cell phone use while driving extends a driver's reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. Driving while distracted is a factor in 25 percent of police-reported crashes, according to insurance companies. |
