Dining services and parking and transportation services received a slight makeover for the fall semester.

Dining

One upcoming change in dining is the debut of a new campus pub. Dining services plans to open a new pub in the Garrett Conference Center. The pub is expected to be completed by the end of October and will serve alcohol to anyone 21 and older.

“This allows students to drink responsibly and not have to drive back to their dorm,” said Gary Meszaros, the assistant vice president of business and auxiliary services.

The pub will also serve food, but students will not be able to use meal plan swipes at the pub. An official name for the pub has not been decided.

Meal plans and menu items were adjusted for the fall semester at some of the 19 existing campus restaurants. Red Zone, for example, added menu items and meal plan choices that include a salad option.

Some students were happily surprised about the new menu items. For Bowling Green sophomore Reece Vinson, it was the option to add turkey to his sandwiches at Subway when using a meal plan swipe.

“I love having the option to use my meal plan at restaurants such as Subway because I can make my own sandwich with lean meats, vegetables and wheat bread,”  Vinson said.  “Adding more options like turkey gives me more power over my own choices and I don’t have to spend money out of my own pocket.”

There are also plans to open a Chili’s near the Augenstein Alumni Center next semester. There will not be meal plan choices, but WKU students will be able to use Big Red Dollars and Dining Dollars.

Hours of operation also changed for the Downing Student Union food court. Red Zone will now close at midnight during the week while Papa John’s and Steak ’n Shake will remain open until 2 a.m.

Parking and Transportation

For those bringing a car to campus, parking permits have a new look, and the parking lots have new rules.

PTS Director Jennifer Tougas said for those on the housing premium option, the housing premium lots are divided into four zones, H1 through H4.

“Parking is not guaranteed, but it does make it much easier for people to find parking within their zone,” said Tougas.

“We are currently sold out of housing premium permits and are releasing names off of the waiting lists as quickly as possible.”

Because of the high demand in parking, prices for most permits increased; only South Campus C2 permits remained the same. Commuter permits increased $10, housing premium permits increased $40 and housing non-premium permits increased $20. Faculty and staff non-premium permits increased $5 while faculty and staff staff premium permits increased $35.

PTS also brought the Blue Line back this school year because of the high demand for buses. The Blue Line will serve the new Russellville Road Lot located next to Arby’s.

“Students coming to campus after 9:30 a.m will find it easier to park here and take the Blue Line to class,” said Tougas.

The bus runs every 15 minutes and takes students up College Heights Boulevard to the top of the Hill and down Normal Street.

“Stops also include PS1 near University Blvd, Florence Schneider Hall, Gordon Wilson Hall, COHH, Grise Hall, MMTH and PFT,”  said Tougas. “Service runs from 7:30 a.m until 6 p.m.”

However, the Blue Line isn’t the only bus route added by PTS this semester. An off-campus route, the Green Line Express, runs from the Campbell Lane Lot to shopping destinations on Campbell Lane including Kroger’s, Target, Wal-Mart, Greenwood Mall and Barnes and Noble. The service runs every 30 minutes from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“Students living on campus can take the White Line to Campbell Lane to pick up the Green Line Express bus,” said Tougas.

The Red Line service will be running later than previous years.

“We’ve extended the Red Line service until 8:30 p.m in the evening to help students get back to their cars or residence after their evening classes,” said Tougas.