I just learned that the locker room area, i.e. the hallway in the West Basement, is going to be inaccessible this weekend. This means that if you need anything from your lockers, you should get it out before lunch tomorrow, Friday, October 31. I am not sure why this is happening on such short notice. But before I even try to go check on the details I wanted to let you know. Sorry for the last minute notice.

BB

The lockers are in and distributed, the book check system is over and fence is up.  Things roll along.  Next week workmen will begin installing double paned windows in the Main Reading Room.   The new windows are supposed to dampen the coming construction noise.  The work is all scheduled to be done between midnight and 8am, so the Reading Room will remain usable during the hours that the Library is open.  The work should be done in two weeks.  In early November they are going to clean the outside of the building that faces the Courtyard.  There is 50 years of accumulted crud on there, and it will be the last chance to get if off.  I know it sounds crazy to clean it BEFORE construction, but once the new building is in, there will not be room for major work to be done.  So they do it now.   Word is that the noise will not be too bad during the cleaning.  Major demolition should not begin until classes are over.  I will keep you posted.

We continue to work on bicycle parking.  No promises but there may be a bit of good news coming.  There have been several inquiries about how one gets access to the locked bicycle cage that is in the garage.  Set out below is the method that you can follow to register your bicycle and to get the access code.  It is not a very large space, but it is something.  Here is the drill:

BIKE PARKING: SECURE PARKING

Introduction

UC affiliates may apply to join the Secure Bicycle Parking program through the Parking & Transportation department: http://pt.berkeley.edu/park/bike/secure

It is a three step process:

• License your bike if you have not already done so.
• Complete the Secure Bicycle Parking form.
• Receive personal access code to use secure bicycle parking locations.

Step One: License Your Bike

At UC Berkeley and in the City of Berkeley, bicycles are required to have a California Bicycle License. If the UCPD stops you while riding a bicycle without a valid license, you could be subject to citation. Additionally, licensing your bicycle increases the likelihood of recovery in case of theft. A new license is valid for three years. Renewals, also available, are valid for up to three years.  See:

http://pt.berkeley.edu/around/bike/info#license

and

http://police.berkeley.edu/prevention/bike.html#license

Bike License Procedures

WHERE: Upper Sproul Plaza, near Sather Gate

WHEN: 11:00am to 1:30pm every Wednesday

HOW: Bring your bike and your ID

Step Two: Complete Secure Bicycle Parking Form

Download  and complete the Secure Bicycle Parking Form:

http://pt.berkeley.edu/sites/pt.berkeley.edu/files/content/SecureBicycleAppForm-1.pdf

Return completed form

Via campus mail to:

P&T Administrative Offices

2150 Kittredge St., 4th Floor

Berkeley, CA

94720, MC 5746

By fax to:

(510) 643-4677

In person at:

P&T Customer Services Office

2150 Kittredge St., 1st Floor Bicycle Parking Guidelines

Step Three: Personal Access Code

Once your application has been approved you will receive your personal access code.

Today the construction crew finished the fence around much of the south side of the building. All of the entrances to the building from the courtyard are now gone. This is the real first step in a long process that will lead us to a very good place. But there are many steps between us and the end of the journey. The construction process will hold many surprises. This blog will keep you posted on what we know and when we know it. Take a deep breath, it begins.

We sent a long e-mail to students yesterday. It was an update on issues related to bicycle parking (high hopes), motorcycle parking (some actual help–see the link at the end of this posting), lockers (distributed) and the soon to expire ‘book check’ system in the Law Library. In the rush to get information to you, conflicting dates for the wrap-up of the ‘book check’ system were given. This Friday, October 17, is the right day. By then you should have cleared your materials out of the bins.

Here is the link for a map of motorcycle parking near the law school

http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=117003979167554402264.00045524bb706f333b524&ll=37.870034,-122.253869&spn=0.005276,0.004431

Enjoy the warm weather.

I sent out an e-mail to all Berkeley Law School students today about the coming changes around the building. Set out at the end of this posting is a more detailed explanation of what is going on,  that has been prepared by those who know. It discusses the likely timetable for construction as well as some extra details. It does not include the issue of the lockers. More lockers are on the way, but for now there are 500 of them, mostly installed in the West Basement. BHSA is handing the distribution of these shiny, new lockers. If you wanted one, or part of one, I hope that you responded to their call. It is important to note that the “Book Check” service at the Patron Services Desk of the Law Library will end next Friday. With lockers distributed there is no need for it. The law lbirary folks were real bricks about taking on the coordination of this service but it is time to wind it out. Please remove your things from the bins by next Friday. Seriously. The bins will go away on a cross-country voyage of self-discovery. Make sure that your stuff does not go with them. We are going to put in mail slots for everyone. We discovered that many folks used the locker as a mail drop. That need we can meet fairly soon. Details to follow.

My e-mail almost immediately elicited questions from bicylcle riders about where they could park their bikes. The short term answer is that the bicycle parking area at the west end of the building, the large one, will stay in place for now. We think, but to be honest, we are not sure, that the small rack at the top of the stairs leading away from the Booth entrance on to Bancroft might stay. The small rack right by the Booth door is gone. The long-term answer is that by University rule, if construction takes away bicycle parking spots, it must replace them on a one for one basis. The word is that they will install more racks along the south wall of Wurster Hall. Wurster is the really ugly Design Building that is just adjacent to Boalt. I will keep you posted as things develop. Motorcycle parking will also be a problem. They are working on a solution to that right now, as soon as I know what anything for certain, I will pass it along.

Now for some detail about the building

Monday, October 13: contractors will begin installing the construction fence. The work on the first day will entail drilling fence posts into the pavement, so there will be noise but all doors will remain open.

Tuesday, October 14: contractors will install the mesh fencing, but will leave a gate open to allow access to courtyard and into the building.

Wednesday, October 15 at 4 AM: contractors will lock off the fence and wall off all the courtyard doors. This means that you will no longer be able to enter/exit through the doors near Booth, the doors near 120, or the doors across from 100 and 105.

As of Wednesday morning, the primary entrances and exits will be:

• The North West door into the West Basement (near rooms 12 & 14 and the lockers) (wheelchair accessible)
• The South door of Simon off of Bancroft (next to Goldberg Room) (wheelchair accessible)
• The South facing door next to classroom 100 (not wheelchair accessible)
• The North facing door next to classroom 110 (not wheelchair accessible).

The South door of Simon off Bancroft will become the night and weekend entrance of the building and will be open whenever the Law Library is open.

There are also two wheelchair accessible doors from the parking lot, one on the north side at the end of the walkway between the North Addition and the Archeology Building; the other on the East side of the building between the North Addition and the back of the 2240 Piedmont (CSLS/JSP) building.

The University will be installing signs that direct you to the various entrances. Because we are all used to having a lot of ways in and out of this building, this new entrance and exit pattern is going to take some getting used to. Be sure to allow yourself some extra time next week when arriving to class.

OTHER RELEVANT DETAILS

Once the construction fence is up the contractors will begin preparation for digging. Within the next two weeks they will finish installing AC in 121-124 and will wall off those windows. At the end of October or early November they will install double paned glass in the Main Reading Room windows. We expect cleaning of the building to begin on 11/3 and actual excavation to begin shortly thereafter.

The current parking spaces (including motorcycle parking) along Bancroft will no longer be available, and the sidewalk on the North side will also be inaccessible. We are working on finding alternative space for motorcycles.

Flyback Week is history. Now we all settle in for the October slog. Welcome back.

Everyone should have received an invitation to the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new building project. It will be on Wednesday from noon-2pm in the soon-to-be-former courtyard. (This is a change from the earlier plans for a party on October 9). There will be food, drink, a t-shirt and suitably silly photo-ops of the Dean wearing a hard hat. Word is that around 1pm there will be a group photo of everyone in attendance. This will be one of those “it goes into the archives” photographs. Be a part of history and join us to smile for the community picture. Then twenty years from now you can come back and see how good you looked.

The first set of lockers are now installed in the corridor in the west basement. Students have been hearing from BHSA about how these lockers will be assigned. As folks move into the lockers, the book check system in the law library will be brought to an end. You will hear more about these two processes in the coming days. I think of this situation like one of those lanes where two freeways briefly merge, and some of the folks on the left are going to the right and some of the folks on the right are shifting to the left. It will all work out, but you have to pay attention and be cool. We want to minimize fender benders. As I learn more, I will keep you posted.

The contractors working on the renovation have agreed to switch to a nightime work schedule when classes resume after Flyback Week.  This is the only sure way to prevent noise leaking into the large lecture halls.  This is good news for students and faculty who have classes in Rooms 100, 105 and 110.  But be forewarned, there will be frenetic activity next week as they try to get as much work done as possible while classes are not meeting.

Dean Edley has called for a serious party on October 9 from 4-6pm to bid farewell to the grassy courtyard and to say hello to the new building project.  Details will follow but the Dean knows a good party when he sees one, so I suspect that this one should be memorable.  The wise will mark their calendars.

The BHSA has e-mailed everyone a questionnaire/petition to determine how many students want lockers.  They asked for responses by the end of today.  A meeting is scheduled with the Dean for Thursday afternoon to go over the responses.   The Law School (to anthropomorphize a bit) wants as many lockers as are needed, but does not want to install banks of then that will go unused.  (The issue is space.  Space around here is like gold, and if you have been following the markets, gold is more precious than ever).  A realistic estimate of the demand is crucial.   Therefore speak now or forever hold your peace.

The noise from the renovation continues to invade the large classrooms.  As one who teaches one of the affected classes, I understand the problem.  The project manager is going to devote himself to remedying the situation.  We are working on a special e-mail notification system which would allow students or faculty to e-mail from class to get help, but the logisitics of having someone on call who is close enough to the site to help are proving tough.  Right now sending Dean Hirshen and Mindi M. an e-mail works as well as anything.  The project manager says he will stay on the site to monitor things.  We shall see.  On the bright side, next week, when no classes meet, the construction crews can drill to their heart’s content.

There is now a banner in the lobby outside Booth Auditorium, ( the area offically known as the Laub Lobby or the Home of Bake Sales) that depicts a timeline of the renovation project.   It is placed a little too high for one as myopic as me to discern much, but I am guessing that it will give you a good visual guide to what is happening.

We are working on coming up with a way to get a measure of how many folks need a locker, beyond what the BHSA petition will tell us.  Using e-mail to accomplish thismakes sense but we need a method that will yield useful results.  Finding a way to make mailboxes available for students is also a priority.

Lots of issues came out at the Town Meeting yesterday. Here is a summary of where things stand. To try to stay organized I will make a list. No doubt I will forget something or get something wrong. Let me know if I do.

1. The Renovation of the west basement into the new student area should be done by the end of the semester. The plan is to move everyone who was displaced to the Hearst Annex back over the Semester Break. Students complained about the noise from the renovation disrupting classes in the large lecture halls. I can attest that this problem annoys both faculty and students. The General Contractor is trying to police the various sub-contractors. There is to be no noisy work after 8:30am. The policing is not always working. Suggestions were made that when noise happens, students should e-mail Annik and Mindi is Student Services so that they can act. A special e-mail, maybe along the lines of “noise@,” might be set up. More to come on this issue. Folks also talked about the frigid climate in the large classrooms. This is a larger problem, one rooted in the poor installation of the heating and ventilation system 50 years ago. There is a plan and they are working on it, but no short term joy looks likely.

2. The Dean stated that we made a mistake on the lockers. Based on the information that was at hand, we thought that 500 would do it. (I am using the royal “we” here). This was wrong and he and Kathleen both apologized. We are trying to determine how many lockers we actually need. Students who want a locker should sign the BHSA petition so that we will know. A student pointed out that some folks will not see the petition and that we should use an e-mail solicitation of need, one that will elicit a reliable number of responses. We will try to do so. The first 500 lockers, which will be located the new west basement area, should be assembled and installed by October 1. The others will take some time to arrive, but everyone who wants a locker will get one. A student suggested that some folks do not use their lockers as anything but mailboxes. Could we provide mail boxes? We will work on this one.

3. The issue of how to get student input into the building process came up several times. The two students appointed by BHSA to serve on the Building Committee cannot provide enough input. It was suggested that BHSA assemble an Advisory Board that can survey a wider range of student views and that this group should meet with the Building Committee. Everyone seemed to think that this was a good idea.

4. The fence around the new construction area will go up on or about October 15. Demolition and construction will begin soon after that date. The Dean wants to have a party to commemorate this event. More news on that point to follow. The Dean showed slides of how the classrooms and the library will be insulated for sound. Double walls, double paned windows and baffles are part of the plan. The construction folks and the University types who work with them assure us that this will successfully contain the sound. We shall see.

5. Traditional in-class exams for the fall semester will be scheduled at 4pm. This is after the work stops each day. We were afraid that no matter how good the sound containment was, some distraction of noise or vibration would leak through. Given how tense everyone is during exams, we worried that there could be a disaster. Thus we asked instructors in second and third year classes to use take-home exams this semester if possible. (Most classes have moved to take home finals or papers in the second and third year already, there was a fairly small group of folks still doing it the traditional way). Some just could not do it, but enough did to allow us to offer in class exams to all first year classes and to those second and third year classes which could not do without them, with everything scheduled at 4pm. This is a case of worst case scenario planning. If the sound containment works so well that something like this is not needed, or if this method poses more problems than it solves, we will go back to the normal scheduling in the spring.

6. There was discussion of the problem of AirBears connectivity. This is not related to the construction but it is causing some chaos. Patricia Donnelly, the head of IT apologized for not communicating better with students about the problem. It is serious and the Campus has joined with us in trying to track down the rogue machine that is blocking folks. More on this issue to follow.

7. There was considerable discussion of how students can communicate their concerns and ideas about the building. The Dean urged folks to talk to Dean Hirshen and Mindi in Student Services, to post on this Blog or to talk directly with me, to go to Kathleen Vanden Heuvel in the Library or to talk to BHSA. We are open to any form of communication. It is in everyone’s interest to identify problems as quickly as possible and to try to fix them. Something might cause you distress but we will not know unless you tell us. The new construction will be a test of how well we can all communicate and react. Any ides are welcome. Everyone understands that some folks do not read their e-mails any longer, we need to find a way to get the word out when necessary. I will post more regularly on this Blog, but that is the barest of beginnings.

Bob Berring

This blog HAS been quiet.  So much news has come from so many directions that reposting items here seemed a bit redundant.  The classrooms are open for business, which is good.  The new student center is progressing, which is also good.  Some drilling has disrupted classes but that is supposed to be fixed, which should be good.   The Law Library really stepped up and moved the book check operation to the Patron Services Desk, which has been a help.  It is far from perfect, but we are getting by.  The actual lockers are on the way.  Lots of discussion about how many lockers we will actually need is percolating.  More to come on that front in the coming weeks as we sort out what we have and what is needed.  The courtyard has been prepared for the coming Big Dig.   We shall see what we shall see on that one.  It is worth noting that the tree-sitters exit means that serious work will begin on the new athletic facility just northeast of the law school.  That may be part of our life too.  What have I forgotten?