I cannot open this review without first expressing my eternal gratitude to The Hare for taking me in after my “friends” from the now-defunct SGA came back for my kneecaps. They wanted to punish me for telling the truth, and I see it fit to retaliate by allying myself with the most truthful voices in College Park. Understandably, The Hare gave me a test to prove myself: pick up the mantle of the ongoing garage review series and “make sure it’s done correctly.” What follows is my carefully crafted review of the University of Maryland’s Union Lane Garage, the often overlooked parking structure in central campus.

Location and Accessibility: 7/10

Situated within a very short walking distance of multiple points of interest, including SECU Stadium, McKeldin Mall, the Cole Student Activities Building, and more. Easy to enter from Campus Drive or Fieldhouse Drive. Both the entryways and the corridors inside were narrower than I expected, and anything larger than a compact car may need to consider a different option. Nonetheless, the placement of this garage was extremely convenient.

Space Availability: 5/10

The garage was very busy at the time of my review, and finding a place for my Audi A6 e-tron took a few minutes, although I eventually was able to park on one of the upper floors in a larger section. This made sense to me given the time of day and the aforementioned placement in one of the busiest areas of campus, but regardless, it may be worth planning ahead and arriving early to ensure there is space to park.

Safety: 4/10

Lighting was present throughout the structure, and the garage seemed to be generally safe from theft or other crime. However, there were very high amounts of pedestrian traffic, presumably people getting to and from their vehicles, and there were multiple opportunities where I feared someone could be hit by a car coming around a corner or up a ramp. Unlike my former peers, I value the well-being of others and would appreciate seeing some infrastructural improvements made to give pedestrians safer places to walk. Speaking of ramps, the ones in this garage should be smoother than they are now; ascending to the second level was a bit of a bumpy ride. Be wary of some of the other clientele here as well, as some of them seemed put off by my presence and demanded I remove my vehicle from the garage. Granted, that may have simply been because they recognized me as a former SGA member.

Pricing: 10/10

Parking is free. Pricing for the other services (see below) may be seen as somewhat steep.

Other Services and Amenities: 8/10

This is one of the better-equipped and better-served parking facilities I’ve been in. Elevators and restrooms are available throughout, though the latter are understandably untidy. A full food court was attached to the garage à la the revered L’Enfant Plaza food court in Washington D.C. Direct interior access to adjacent establishments such as bowling alleys, theaters, and certain University administrative offices was incorporated into the floor plan. Interior decoration was very well done too; the section I ultimately parked in was even wood-floored, an uncommon construction choice in public parking garages. Art adorned some walls and alcoves.

Overall composite score: 6.8/10

Union Lane Garage is perfectly situated within a major nerve center of our wonderful campus and offers even more to the motorist than just free parking. The tradeoff is some apparent callousness in design semantics and considerations for safety. If you keep that in mind, then it’s a serviceable place to leave your car and a perfect fit into the campus ecosystem. It even looks like our other buildings, and reminded me of my former workplace in a way I can’t fully describe.

Should this review please the editorial board of The Hare and redeem the misguided pitfalls of my two predecessors, perhaps you can join me again for a review of Regents Drive Garage.

Image Credits: Jill Murphy