Project Adds Parking, Landscaping at French East

Work is under way in the traffic circle outside the entrance to French East that will add five parking spaces and enhance the area’s landscaping.

The parking spaces are being added because people with disabilities often visit the College of Allied Health Sciences, located in French East, for therapy or to observe or participate in classes, says Len Thomas, a planner in Planning, Design and Construction. The five new spaces will bring the total number of spaces to eight, all designated for use by French East.

In addition, five trees will be planted that are more tolerant of urban conditions than the trees that previously occupied the space, Thomas says. (Before the project began, only three trees remained from an original planting of eight.)

Sealing of the asphalt, installation of bumpers and striping of the new spaces was scheduled for this week. The timetable for planting of the new trees will depend on weather conditions, Thomas says.