As part of an ongoing effort to improve campus parking and transportation options, the U of A is announcing its plans to construct a parking garage that will add approximately 1,500 parking spaces to campus. The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees approved the capital project on Thursday, Nov. 20.

The decision to build the new parking facility was one component of a multi-faceted parking study conducted over the last two years that aimed to identify areas of improvement for university parking and implement changes as recommended by industry experts.

Several locations were considered for the new parking structure to ensure the highest level of benefit to campus. The garage will be built along Razorback Road south of Center Street and east of Graham Avenue. The project is tentatively set for completion in 2029.

In addition to the new parking garage. Transit and Parking Services is evaluating a site east of the Garland Avenue Garage as a space to construct a new surface parking lot. The process is still in its initial stages but plans to create over 100 more parking spaces on the north end of campus.

While adding parking spaces to campus was a focal point of the department's internal evaluation, the study resulted in other solutions as well to maximize efficiency in parking and transportation operations.

Parking is looking to add technology to the most utilized parking areas on campus that would display the number of available parking spaces in that lot or garage. This feature would provide drivers with a more accurate and timely representation of parking capacity.

A request for proposal (RFP) for this project has been posted, and potential contractors are being assessed.

In addition, the U of A strives to offer alternative transportation options besides driving to the campus community, with improvements to transit, biking and walking infrastructure underway.

Razorback Transit added over 11,000 hours of service for the 2025-26 school year that increased frequency during peak service hours and extended service hours for non-peak and Safe Ride operations.

The university is a Bicycle Friendly Gold Campus and continues work on active transportation infrastructure such as the Maple Street Improvements, Oak Ridge Trail, the Fayetteville Traverse and better bicycle parking. More information is available at bike.uark.edu.

A current study is helping to provide strategies to enhance Razorback Transit's service efficiency as well as determine a space for a new transit maintenance facility.

This summer, Transit and Parking Services established four key initiatives to improve parking and transportation on campus. Those initiatives included expansion of Razorback Transit services and enhanced communication efforts to students, faculty and staff in addition to the potential for additional parking structures and the space-counting technology.

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