Top floor in Collins garage closed for protective fence installation
The top floor of the Leroy Collins garage is closed for the installation of protective fences, Director of Communication and Engagement Aaron Nichols said.
The addition of fencing is the second phase of a $3.8 million multiphased approach to install additional protective measures to open-air garages due to suicides at the Tampa campus. The first stage consisted of adding buffering landscape, such as large trees and shrubbery, on ground floors as well as signage on the upper floors.
USF announced the initiative in September 2022 after the death of a student at Beard garage, but phase one was not completed until early 2023. Another suicide occurred at Beard in July, marking the second in less than a year.
Work on Collins is expected to be completed later this month, Nichols said.
Top-floor fencing has already been completed at Beard garage, Crescent Hill parking garage and Laurel Drive garage, he said.
The remaining phase of the project will be the installation of fencing in between floors levels three and up. This phase has an expected completion date between January and May 2024.
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