SDSU housing could squeeze College-Rolando Library parking
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Library supporters worry spaces will get scarce during construction. Photo: Claire Trageser/Axios
A construction project to build more SDSU student housing could make it harder to visit the College-Rolando Library, according to library supporters.
The big picture: The library on Montezuma Road has long shared a parking lot with a church, but that church is being turned into five stories of off-campus housing.
- When construction ramps up this fall, it could take up much of the lot, Jan Hintzman, president of the College-Rolando branch Friends of the Library, told Axios.
"The problem is, if people come to the library and they can't park, they go away," she said.
Case in point: The library lost two-thirds of its circulation and half of its foot traffic in 2017 when a library neighbor put up fencing that blocked the Montezuma Road entrance and took up multiple parking spots.
- "Kids didn't come to the after-school homework programs," Hintzman said. "It was a disaster."
That issue was fixed by a joint-use agreement between the library and the church, but now she worries it'll happen again.
Threat level: City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera is aware of the issue and has made it clear that maintaining access to the library must remain a priority throughout construction, his spokesperson Ben Mendoza told Axios.
- "That includes preserving parking access where possible, providing clear signage so residents know the library remains open, and ensuring ongoing communication with the community as conditions change," Mendoza said.
- Some parking should stay available during construction, but other spaces may be temporarily closed because of sewer and stormwater work, they said.
Zoom out: Library supporters also didn't want the student housing to be built, but they lost that battle, Hintzman said.
- "The bulldozers are on the site right now, and the fences are up, and it's happening," she said. "So we failed at getting rid of the boulder. So now we have to figure out how to go around the boulder."
Context: Libraries across the city are also losing hours because of budget cuts.
- Central, Point Loma, and Rancho Bernardo libraries will cut four hours each on Saturdays.
- University Heights and Allied Gardens libraries will be closed on Mondays.
La Jolla's library hours were also supposed to be cut, but local philanthropists stepped in to preserve its existing schedule.