The biggest challenge continues to be PARKING. In our ongoing effort to keep our nearest spaces for those who need them most please note the following items:
ALL parking in our west-side lot, as well as in the west 16th Street lot is now reserved for the following:
Vehicles with handicap placards & special needs parking. We define special needs
as the following: those without handicap placards but still needing to
be as conveniently located to an entrance as possible. Who might that
be? It can range from the older person who uses a walker or needs
assistance from others to a mother with young children or infants. We
are asking that those in the church family able to walk longer
distances without difficulty use the outer lot, the Firestove store
lot, or the former Blockbuster lot. Many are using 15th Street north
of Market; it is a wider street with considerable parking around
Barrick Field.
The BEST solution?! USE THE SHUTTLE SERVICE.
We are now extending this service to include the DISTRICT OFFICE
PARKING LOT. The ORPAC District Office (2780 Market Street.) is
located just west of the intersection of Market & Park Streets on
the south side of the street. It will accommodate another 20
vehicles. Beginning this Sunday, January 31, our shuttle service will
also stop at the District Office. Nothing is simpler than parking your
car and catching the next shuttle. Turn-around for the shuttle, at
most, is approximately ten minutes. We will put a second shuttle into
service if necessary.
On the construction front? WOW - if you were here each day to watch
the activity you would be amazed at how much has been done over the
past few weeks. Here's
a fun fact: approximately 4000 TONS of gravel have been used to form
the pad for our new building. That's 8 MILLION POUNDS! Joe Wadsworth, his crew, and the Dalke team are doing a great job for Salem First!
Speaking of the west side 16th Street parking lot - IT WILL CONTINUE TO
GET SMALLER!! 2 things will begin to happen over the next several
weeks: FIRST, Dalke will begin to construct their "pour beds". These
are the huge forms used for the cement pours that create our tilt-up
panels. The SECOND thing will be the need to tie the new plumbing for
this building into the city line on Market Street. This will affect
the lot that serves as our main entrance. I will pass on more specific
information as it becomes available.
Finally, PARKING LOT LIGHTS. We are expecting to have temporary lights installed for the west 16th St lot this week.
We're all looking forward to another Lord's Day together. Blessings to you all!
Please continue to pray for the safety of those working on our
site. I concur completely with the appreciation Pastor Dave expressed
to you in his weekly email. You have done an OUTSTANDING job navigating
these challenges, and that without complaint! While I have not had a
single complaint from anyone, many of you have offered valuable
suggestions. We continue to do everything we can, where we can, to
respond to your concerns.
Posted on
Sat, January 30, 2010
by Jerry Morris