Photo by Craig Coleman Workers perform concrete demolition on the P-2 level of the Abrams Hall garage during phase one of a year-long renovation project.

Staff and employees who are currently authorized to park at Abrams will be affected by the loss of parking spaces during the renovation, while Warrior Transition Brigade personnel authorized to park there will not.

“For many years the concrete in Abrams Hall parking has been deteriorating,” said Nino Fleri, the garrison’s director of public works. “Wherever we see bad concrete, we’re going to cut it out and replace it with new concrete.”

The renovations will be completed in six phases. The current phase will affect approximately 122 parking spaces for the next nine weeks. Phase 2 will affect 140 spaces for 10 weeks. Phase 3, with the largest number of displaced vehicles, will affect 146 slots for seven weeks. Phase 4 will affect 91 spaces for 10 weeks; phase 5, 36 slots for five weeks; and phase 6 will affect 12 slots for four weeks.

“Because Abrams has only one entrance and exit on each level, when we take out a section it affects all three levels,” Fleri said. “You can’t work on the top and have concrete falling on cars below. Whatever we do on one section of a particular floor, we have to do simultaneously on all the floors simultaneously.”

As the patient parking lot adjacent to Heaton Pavilion (main hospital) is reserved for patients and visitors, the renovation will make on-campus parking options even more limited. Provost Marshal personnel have registered an increase in tickets issued and cars towed for parking illegally.

Sgt. 1st Class Stephen Brooks, provost sergeant, said in a statement released Tuesday, vehicles are under no circumstances allowed to park illegally. “Illegally parked vehicles create hazards that affect the overall safety of everyone,” Brooks said. “Please remember that seconds can count when our fire department is responding to a medical emergency or fire.” Currently, an alternate option for commuters is the overflow parking lot located at the Forest Glen Annex. An express shuttle runs constantly between Forest Glen and the main campus from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The garrison is working with the Army Corps of Engineers, the Army’s center of expertise in real estate, to lease additional parking spaces at a former car dealership on Georgia Avenue about 10 blocks from post, adjacent to the Ward 4 Police Station.

The lease, which will cost nearly $3 million, will initially add 275 slots to the number of available parking spaces for WRAMC staff.

The lot belongs to two private owners, so negotiations are under way with both. “Within the next 30 days, the Corps of Engineers will sign both leases, so we will be able to use those lots,” Fleri said.

Fleri expects parking attendants to check vehicles for appropriate parking stickers. The lot is surrounded by a fence, which offers increased protection for vehicles. He said the additional parking spaces so close to the main campus should give staffers a better commute.

“If you can’t find a parking space on base, don’t illegally park,” Fleri said. “With the additional parking spaces and the increase in [SmartBenefits, formerly known as Metrochek], the parking situation should be getting better.”

Fleri said staff members will have three modes of transportation to get to work. “They can walk on a nice day; they can take any Metro bus that goes up and down Georgia Avenue; or they can take the Walter Reed Shuttle.”

The parking lot will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., giving shift workers an opportunity to use the lot regardless of schedules, according to Fleri.

The maximum SmartBenefits allowance was increased to $230 per month as of March 2. According to Alvin S. Kornegay, Jr., of the transportation office, some staff members will benefit from the increase. “It really helps some people,” Kornegay said. “We’ve got people who come in from Delaware and West Virginia. This will help them a lot more.”

Staff members and federal employees who have shorter commutes can also gain from SmartBenefits. Mass transit expenses can be completely offset, making light rail, Metro and buses a viable means of getting to work.