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Work Begins on New Parking Garage

Garage at Science Drive and Cameron Boulevard will help address growth

Duke has begun initial preconstruction work near the corner of Science Drive and Cameron Boulevard where a new parking garage will be built. 

Fencing has cordoned off about 3,000 feet around the 751 Lot and R. David Thomas Center

The seven-level garage, which will be built on what is now a surface lot, will have 2,320 spaces, including 11 spots for motorcycles and 36 for accessible vehicles. It will add parking access in the athletic facilities area of campus, where some parking has been lost to other new construction, and provide additional spaces for students in Duke Law School and Fuqua School of Business.

Duke has an overall waiting list of about 2,200 students, faculty and staff requesting permits to park in that area of campus. Last year’s completion of Gross Hall’s renovations alone increased demand for parking on the west side of West Campus by 300 spots.

“This is a very strategic component of our overall traffic and parking plan. As we continue to grow over the next couple years, surface parking availability, will become increasingly constraint,” said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for administration. “The placement of the garage is consistent with the parking master plan to place more parking on the outside of campus and move to a pedestrian space inside campus.” 

Placed about 100 feet back from Science Drive, the $53 million garage will feature an “entry plaza” to Science Drive with a mix of green space and hardscape, with hundreds of trees and shrubs. 

In addition to work on the new lot, Facilities Management will also oversee the creation of two new bus stops immediately outside the lot on Science Drive to minimize traffic congestion. Currently, only one Duke bus stop is established, but has no pull off spot and buses must stop in traffic. During work on the garage, two pull-off spots with covered seating will be added opposite each other, allowing buses to leave driving lanes and park to pick up passengers.

To minimize traffic congestion at the Science Drive-Cameron Boulevard intersection, Duke will also add entry/exit lanes off Cameron Boulevard and lengthen the left-hand turn lane for motorists traveling up the hill on Cameron and turning onto Science Drive. 

A right-hand turn lane on Cameron Boulevard for turning into the Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club will be widened slightly to allow for smoother traffic flow.