The UA vs. Arizona State University football game marks the first midweek football game in years, which poses an interesting challenge for foot, car and out-of-town traffic on a day of classes.

The Thursday night game is a made-for-TV matchup on ESPN for a national broadcast bringing maximum exposure for teams in an in-state rivalry game.

New parking measures have already been mailed out to holders of permits around Arizona Stadium and in Cherry Avenue Parking Garage for alternative parking further off campus with shuttle service.

“”We haven’t had one since 2007, so it’s been a few years,”” said David Heineking, director of Parking and Transportation Services. ””We learned that we needed to a better job of communicating the plan to everyone, and of course we refined the plan itself.””

Bill Davidson, marketing manager for PTS, drafted the communication section of this year’s plan, sending out personal emails to each permit holder who parks on National Championship Drive, in the Cherry Avenue Parking Garage, and in 6090, 6092, 6093, 6097 and 6098 lots to park in a different area for the day.

“”We do realize it will be inconvenient for some people and hope that they will plan for a few extra minutes to get from their assigned parking area to their class or office. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we wanted everyone to know where they would park rather than attempting to move them in the middle of the day,”” Davidson said, noting shifts for those in garages were focused on still allowing covered parking.

Cherry Avenue Parking Garage permit holders #4948 – 5362 will park in Sixth Street Parking Garage, permit holders #4005 – 4947 will be housed in Highland Avenue Parking Garage, and Cherry Avenue Parking Garage permit holders #5363 – 5607 will park in Tyndall Avenue Parking Garage for the day.

Suzy Mason, with Arizona Athletics, works with Parking and Transportation to facilitate parking with athletics events.

“”The plan took into account that in 2007, when we did a weekday game, spots were reserved but specific lots were not designated for alternate use,”” Mason said in an email. ””This year, students, faculty and staff can see exactly what lot to park in that day instead of hunting for available spaces. It’s a targeted reassignment and should facilitate easier transportation around campus that day.””

A frequently asked questions page on the PTS website allows students answers to questions like if school is still in session — yes — or which lots will be affected.

“”I think there’s going to be a lot of traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian, and I think people will need to plan ahead because there’s just going to be a lot of people here,”” Heineking said.

CatTran shuttles will be rerouted beginning at 3 p.m. to accommodate the Wildcat Walk, and other pre-game activities.

UA President Robert Shelton first mentioned the game in his welcome memo to the campus community on Aug. 23: “”This game will be nationally telecast on ESPN and will reach millions of people across the country affording a tremendous opportunity to show off our campus and garner exposure to a great range of University programs and accomplishments (in addition to generating significant and much needed revenue for Intercollegiate Athletics),”” Shelton said.

“”This visibility will give us the opportunity to be gracious hosts to all who visit the campus for this event,”” Shelton continued. ””That’s the good news. The bad news (if you can call it that) is that we will have nearly 60,000 people descending on campus that afternoon (many during the height of rush hour) and that will inevitably lead to some challenging situations with traffic and parking.””

Arizona Athletics works with PTS to “”lease”” space on game day, to accommodate both stadium operations, such as TV trucks, satellite trucks, concessions, deliveries and fan parking, Mason said.

Heineking said he didn’t feel that the UA’s opponent changed the situation of the game.

“”There may be some more visitor fans but some of these schools, Iowa for example, travel really well … and we’ve sold out many of the games,”” Heineking said, “”and the stadium only holds what the stadium holds.””

CatTran routes for Dec. 2:

Unchanged routes: Orange, Teal and USA routes.

Green route: No stops at Stewart Observatory or Meinel Optical Sciences building after 12:15 p.m., board at the Education building instead.

Mauve route: No service to stops on Seventh Street, Highland Avenue, Graham-Greenlee Residence Hall or the Meinel Optical Sciences building past 12:17 p.m. Service to the 9008 lot will occur at the Sixth Street Parking Garage after that point.

Purple route: Last pickup at Sixth Street Parking Garage going north will be at 3:02 p.m. Last pickup for the Arizona Health Sciences Center will be heading south at the same time.

Nightcat: No service northbound from Highland Avenue, Graham-Greenlee Residence Hall, the Main Library or Steward Observatory stops heading north. Southbound stops will have service.

Other FAQs:

• The Sun Tran will be running with service to the football game. The Sun Tran website, suntran.com, contains routes and schedules.
• Cherry Avenue at Hawthorne Street, Highland Avenue at Fourth Street, and Enke Drive west of National Championship Drive will close on Dec. 2 at approximately 3:30 p.m. in order to allow the Wildcat Walk to take place and to ensure the safety of the large number of pedestrians in the area.
• If you have questions/concerns about this notice please contact 626–PARK (7275) or check out their FAQ’s website at parking.arizona.edu/faq/faq_dec_2010.php.