What goes up must finally come down.
Yes it is true. The parking gates on the Brighton Campus will be operational beginning July 5th. For those of you who have additional questions besides the basic WHO WHAT WHERE WHEN AND HOW please read on. I have tried to predict every possible question one might have and address it further on in the e-mail. For those of you who are not interested in reading this expose' skip it.
WHO: Any college community member that uses any of the gated parking lots- yes that includes N and P.
WHAT: Must obtain a new photo ID prox card (proximity chip in the card) If your old photo is still in the system you may keep it (I bet you are all as excited as I am about that) however you may have a new photo taken if you would like.
WHERE: Photo ID office located in the R.Thomas Flynn Campus Center, Bldg 3 Room 139A.
WHEN: Beginning May 25th until July 1st, days and hours of service will be: Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9am – 3pm. (except for the Friday before Memorial Day). After this time period until the first day of classes in the fall semester, hours will be by appointment only by calling 292.2555.
HOW: First come first serve, looking your finest….or not, go to the photo ID office during the hours listed above. Bring your old ID card with you which you will turn it over to the Photo ID representative. There will only be one prox card issued to you. NO DUPLICATES.
Questions you might have……
1. Why is the gate going down during the summer when there is hardly any traffic?
Answer: So the system may be tested during a less busy time and get everyone used to carrying their ID card and be ready to use it before approaching the gate. Also we can work out any programming issues that may arise.
2. How much will a replacement card cost (lost, stolen, mutilated etc.)?
Answer: $10.00. Proximity technology is more expensive.
3. Why can’t I have 2 cards?
Answer: The new ID system will not allow duplicate cards to be issued. Doesn’t that make sense?
4. How do the prox readers work?
Answer: Wave your ID card in front of the reader.
5. Will the new card work like the old one did in copiers and other applications?
Answer: Yes it will –it has the same stripes on the back of the card as the old cards.
6. Where does the college have proximity technology?
Answer: Prox technology at the College is only at the Parking Gates. We do foresee that future applications will be installed.
7. Why did we do this and why did it take so long?
Answer: This was a big project. First we replaced the copper wire run from the gates to the Public Safety Office with fiber. This will prevent the weather related issues (lightning strikes, amount of precipitation) that used to plague our parking gate readers and should also speed up the system. We also replaced the swipe readers (not great for the outdoors) with the proximity readers. We are no longer using the SS number that was encoded on the mag stripe. And we don’t have to worry about the stripe becoming de-magnetized. In the meantime the entire Campus Center ID system was moving over to a new College wide ID system. This required extensive programming by the Campus Center and ETS staff.
8. How will the gates for N and P work for events?
Answer: Lot N will be the primary lot for outside events in the Warshof Conference Center and/or R. Thomas Flynn Campus Center. The gate will remain up most of the time however if there is a special event, the gate will go down and only the administrators with assigned spaces will be able to access this lot. Lot P gate will be down most of the time however if we need the lot for a special event we will “block out” all access except for Administrators with assigned spaces. This is our plan, however it is subject to change.
Thank you for your cooperation and patience. If you have more questions or would like to talk to me for any reason, feel free and call me at extension 2903
Have a great summer (for those of you who are off duty)!
Leah Dyer
Public Safety
05/24/2005 |