During the spring semester, U. Central Florida built a $457,000 multipurpose sign, but students are still wondering if it was worth every penny.

Located on Alafaya Trail near Centaurus Drive, the sign was constructed with the purpose of improving the experience had by visitors, students, faculty and staff, according to Grant Heston, the assistant vice president of UCF News & Information.

The intent of the electronic component is to provide directions to events on campus, alert students as to which parking garages are full and display emergency alert messages.

The sign was funded through the minor projects and utilities of UCF’s Office of Facilities Planning.

For the majority of its existence, in lieu of information about events, parking and alerts, the sign has been used to promote school spirit, which has some students questioning the point of some of the images displayed, the amount of money spent building the sign and the chosen location of the sign.

Heston said the reason for this is that there are currently no major events to advertise, so in the mean time the school has been using the sign to promote school spirit.

“I’ve driven by it lots of times and it just said ‘UCF,’ ” senior film major Heath Lacy said. “I guess it’s good that it wasn’t paid for with student funds, but I still think it’s a waste of money.”

Lacy said he would have rather seen the funds go toward the construction of another parking garage, road maintenance or student dorms.

Some students are concerned that the placement of the sign is not a prime location for informing students since the sign is not located where the highest concentration of student traffic is.

“I think it should have been placed closer to the main entrance of campus,” senior psychology major Kristie Afonso said. “Most students don’t use the entrance that the sign is located closest to.”

With the fall semester almost here, she anticipates seeing the sign function more effectively for the UCF community, chiefly the students.

“I would hope that they would utilize the sign to alert students about what parking garages are full, especially during the beginning of the semester,” Afonso said.

“Once the parking situation calms down, it should be used for special alerts.”
Junior political science major Mikey Massas doesn’t see a need for the sign to display emergency alerts at all.

“As far as the UCF alerts go, they send plenty of alerts through the Knight’s e-mail and text messages, so the majority of the students are already informed about what’s happening in, on and around campus,” Massas said. “If anything, that sign should be on Gemini Boulevard [near] the arena … so people taking that high-traffic road toward the parking lots and garages are aware of what’s full and where to park.”

Though the older sign, which was built in 1999, was closer to Gemini Boulevard off of Alafaya Trail, Heston said that the brick and mortar component of the sign should last 40 to 50 years, and the electronic component should last 20 years.
Heston said that students can expect to see additional sign improvements in the future.

“This just happens to be the first one that we did,” he said. “The other signs will go up as budget allows.”