WKU News

Jennifer Tougas, director of Parking and Transportation Services, said the Parksmart certification process aided the project team in making smart choices for design and construction as well as for long-term operations and maintenance of Parking Structure 3. (WKU photo by Clinton Lewis)

Parking Structure 3 at WKU has become the first parking structure in Kentucky and the 26^th in the world to receive Parksmart certification from Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI).

PS3 has received Bronze certification from Parksmart, the world’s only certification system designed to advance sustainable mobility through smarter parking structure design, construction and operation. THP Limited of Cincinnati provided design and consulting services for the project.

Jennifer Tougas, director of WKU’s Department of Parking and Transportation Services, said the Parksmart certification process aided the project team in making smart choices for design and construction as well as for long-term operations and maintenance.

“The result was an efficient, durable and sustainable structure,” she said.

PS3, located in the back of the Creason Lot next to the WKU Softball and Soccer complexes, opened in 2018 and provides 698 parking spaces. The $10 million project was funded through student fees.

The Parksmart certification process looks at four components:  Management, Programs, Technology and Structure Design and Innovation. An informational sign is installed on the first floor of PS3 that describes the sustainable features of the structure.  These include an efficient LED lighting system, electric vehicle charging stations, air pump station and bicycle repair station.  During construction, 82 percent of the building materials in the precast structural system were extracted or manufactured within 300 miles of the site. Nearly 82 percent of the construction waste was recycled. The project incorporated and reconfigured the adjacent campus transit hub to improve pedestrian safety, bus circulation and traffic flow and provides a connection for students to the campus and Bowling Green’s GObg Transit Center.

“As we develop services for our customers to help them reach their destinations, each piece is a part of a larger comprehensive program,” Tougas said. “Our jobs as parking professionals reach far beyond the parking space. Everything is connected. Achieving Parksmart certification brings all of this full circle.”

Contact: Jennifer Tougas, (270) 745-2374