http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/articl...707310326/1007
Published Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Tuscaloosa News
Old Chevrolet lot open for RV parking
By Robert DeWitt
Staff Writer
RV owners interested in the Old Tuscaloosa Chevrolet car lot can call 800-817-0753 or visit
www.tuscaloosamarines.org.
TUSCALOOSA | Members of the Crimson Tide RV nation have a new place to park.
The Tuscaloosa-based Johnny Micheal Spann Detachment of the Marine Corps League will be renting spaces in the Old Tuscaloosa Chevrolet car lot at the corner of Jack Warner Parkway and Greensboro Avenue to recreational vehicles during the 2007 University of Alabama football season, said Senior Vice Commandant Ray Looney.
The league will use the fees it collects to help pay for community projects like Toys for Tots and Wounded Warriors.
“The location is nice, right there on the river," Looney said. “You have the shuttle coming right there to pick them up."
Demolition crews are tearing down the buildings on the old car lot, and the work should be done within two weeks, Looney said. After that, Marine Corps League members must line off parking spaces. Looney anticipates the lot will provide parking for about 150 recreational vehicles.
“We want this to be a first class place for these folks," Looney said. “We want them to feel welcome and safe and be good ambassadors for Tuscaloosa and the university. We want them to have a good time."
The parking provides a welcome replacement for recreational vehicle owners who lost parking in the old CityFest lot at University Boulevard and Greensboro Avenue. Downtown businesses complained that the RVs were taking up spaces customers would use.
RVs can still park in the Barbecue Lot, immediately north of the former CityFest Lot and in the River Road Sports Complex parking lot. The Barbecue Lot will accommodate about 40 RVs while the sports complex parking lot will hold about 65 RVs.
The University of Alabama has about 1,450 RV parking spaces available on campus. But RVs parking on campus can’t arrive until 6 p.m. Friday.
“The significant thing for the folks who want to park with us is that they can arrive on Wednesday," Looney said. “I think we’re the only RV parking that is allowing them to arrive that early."
All RVs must leave the lot by sunset on Sunday.
The League parking lot will offer 20-by-40 foot parking spaces at $500 a season with a $100 extra charge for a towed car. But the organization is also renting single-game spaces for $150 with a $50 fee for towed vehicles.
“LSU fans, Tennessee fans and Georgia fans come into town just for that game," Looney said. “We can accommodate those single-game people."
While the lot targets motor homes, towed camper trailers and their towing vehicles that fit into the spaces are also welcome. The lot has no water, sewer or electricity. There are no plans to provide water and sewer but there is a possibility that electricity will be available to a limited number of spaces, Looney said.
The league is working with the Tuscaloosa Police Department, Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service and other city agencies to comply with the regulations governing RV parking.
Reach Robert DeWitt at robert.
dewitt@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0203 or 866-400-8477, ext. 203.
