Debate Traffic: Getting Around Oakland University

Are you coming to OU for the debate tonight? OU Police Chief Samuel Lucido has these tips for both students and community members looking to check in on the action:

Road closures

Pioneer Drive will remain closed until 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Parking lot closures

Lots P-16, P-26 and P-18 will be closed until 11 p.m. Wednesday. P-17 will remain closed until noon Thursday.

Any unauthorized vehicles found in these lots during the closures will be towed.

Lot P-29, or the parking garage, will be closing the top floor and ramp from 11 p.m. Tuesday until 11 p.m. Wednesday. The remaining spaces in the garage will be available for normal university use.

Lot P-57, located on East Campus, will be reserved as an overnight holding area for media trucks arriving on campus just prior to the event. Beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday, the lot will be made available for overflow parking associated with the debate.

Those with handicap parking permits will be allowed access to the designated handicap spaces in P-16, P-18 and P-26 throughout the week. Any officer will be posted at the Pioneer Drive closure just south of the P-26 entrance to allow access during the lot closures.

Temporary parking areas

Due to the lot closures, the university will be providing “turf” parking on a temporary basis as follows:

• Around 100 spaces north of P-11 lot near the upper fields
• About 110 spaces between the P-1 lot and Squirrel Road
• Around 200 spaces west of the P-37 lot

Other protests, Freedom of Speech area

A Freedom of Speech area has been designated in the open area between Kresge Library and Pioneer Drive in order to allow assembly as close to the O’Rena and RAC restricted center as possible.

A Ron Paul rally is also anticipated, Lucido said, between 5-6 p.m. between Kresge Library and the traffic circle.

Lucido said signs and placards may be carried but it is recommended that they be mounted on cardboard carriers. Fliers and handbills may also be distributed. Voice amplification devices will be allowed but only if they do not disturb university operations and classes.