MTSU’s first home game of the 2012 season on Thursday, Aug. 30, will require traffic and parking changes to accommodate on- and off-campus Blue Raider fans.
The Office of Parking and Transportation Services is encouraging students on campus to leave their cars parked and walk or ride the Raider Xpress shuttle to classes and the game. Faculty and staff can do the same or try to arrive early, since fans are expected to be on campus early as well.
MTSU’s Blue Raiders will be playing the McNeese University Cowboys beginning at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Floyd Stadium. The Southland Conference team, based in Lake Charles, La., is traveling early to Murfreesboro to avoid potential delays related to Tropical Storm Isaac.
During Thursday’s expected traffic crunch, motorists should use entrances and exits on the less-congested south and east sides of campus along East Main Street and Rutherford Boulevard, said Ron Malone, MTSU’s assistant vice president for events and transportation services.
“Our afternoon and evening classes will be meeting as usual, so using the south and east sides of campus will allow students, faculty and staff to enter and exit more easily,” Malone said. “If they’re using East Main or Rutherford, they can avoid the most congested west and north sides of campus.”
The campus community also should note these parking-lot and road closings for Aug. 30, Malone said:
- The Greenland Drive and Baseball Lots will be blocked off all day Thursday for the game. Those who normally park in these lots are encouraged to seek out alternative parking for the day, preferably in the Rutherford Boulevard Lot and other perimeter lots.
- The Division Street Lot will be closed all day for use by coaches preparing for the game.
- The Kirksey Old Main Lot adjacent to the Midgett Building (north of KOM) will close at 2 p.m. Aug. 30 for reserved parking.
- Both east and west entrances of Faulkinberry Drive will close at 2 p.m. on game day. Traffic will be allowed to exit at the east end of Faulkinberry onto Champion Way.
- The Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building lot will close at 2 p.m. and will be reserved for media parking.
- The Horseshoe, S-Curve and Woodfin Lots also will close at 2 p.m. and will be reserved for game-day participants.
- The Davis Science Building Lot will be reserved for white faculty, staff and administration permits only from 2 to 6 p.m. on game day. Faculty and staff with afternoon class responsibilities may access this lot from Friendship via Alumni Drive.
All campus parking for people with disabilities will remain unchanged and will be enforced as always. No one with a valid disability placard or license plate will be turned away from any available disabled-parking space, and no vehicle without the appropriate placard or plate will be allowed to use disabled-parking spaces.
MTSU’s Raider Xpress shuttle buses will run their routes until the end of the third quarter of the game. Service will then end to allow the MTSU Police Department to prepare for the game traffic that will be leaving campus.
You can download a printable campus parking map at http://tinyurl.com/MTParkingMap12-13. For more information about parking at MTSU anytime, visit the Parking and Transportation Services website at www.mtsu.edu/parking.