Elusive parking remains a problem
By Anna Lee
Old Gold and Black Reporter

> February 1, 2001

A recent study of available parking on campus confirmed that weekday parking is often very difficult but also showed that spaces were available in outlying areas of campus.

Mary Gerardy, an assistant vice president for student life and chairperson of the University Traffic Commission, summarized the results of the survey in an e-mail sent Jan. 25 to all students on the Reynolda campus. “The most serious problems occur on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. until noon,” she wrote. The survey was conducted in November 2000.

At these times, the majority of the lots near to the campus’s central buildings are full or have minimal spaces available. Commuter students who have classes during these peak parking hours have felt the effects of the parking shortage. Senior Adam Huggins said, “My first class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday is at 10 a.m. and by then Scales (parking lot Q) is completely packed.”

The survey indicated that the parking lots furthest from the center of campus had the most open spaces. Parking lots R1, R2 and R3 near Polo Residence Hall; lot Z next to Student Apartments; and Allen Easley Drive had open parking spaces. In her e-mail, Gerardy suggested that students park in these areas rather than circling in lots more central to campus, such as lot Q. Regina Lawson, the chief of University Police gave similar advice. “Think about what time of day it is, and then go first where you know there is going to be parking,” she said.

In her e-mail Gerardy also reminded students that they could park in “peripheral lots” such as the parking lot of the First Assembly of God church and the lot on Student Drive.

Students were not optimistic that these suggestions would decrease the amount of traffic in the main lots. “Theoretically it will work, but I doubt that many students will take advantage of those lots.” Huggins said. Senior Brian Heaton said, “Even with the extra parking off campus I don’t think there’s enough.”

Some students’ experiences led them to question the results of the survey. Heaton said, “I work off campus and when I come back on to find a space there are usually only one or two spaces in the lots they said were open.”

Individuals’ parking experiences were largely based on the times that they returned to campus. Senior Liz Eads said that she was usually able to find a parking space but also said, “My schedule doesn’t cause a problem, but I think a lot of other people’s do.”

The limited number of parking spaces affected some students more than others. Senior Allyson Everhart, a Polo resident said, “(Parking) was more of a problem when I lived on the Quad, but it is not that big of a problem now.”

Sophomore Ronald White added, “Getting a space is never a problem but getting the space you want might be.”
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Various solutions to the parking problem have been discussed in recent years and the most popular idea was to build a parking deck. Both students and administrators saw this as a long-range solution to the problem. During an Oct. 2000 meeting, the university’s board of trustees reviewed plans to build a $5.5 million parking deck but deferred action on the issue because of other financial concerns.

Huggins, believes that a parking deck would be the answer to the university’s parking woes. “We have the space to build one, but they always seem to find some other way to spend the money,” Huggins said.

Lawson said, “its still desired among the campus community to try to move forward with the deck, but the trustees had to make some real hard decisions in terms of expenditures and the deck is an expensive, expensive endeavor.”

Other ideas that have been discussed in the past for easing the parking problem included off-campus satellite parking with shuttles running between the parking lot and the campus and preventing freshmen from bringing cars to campus. However, the location of the university within the community and resistance by students made these solutions somewhat problematic. Lawson noted, “The problem is we’re not a downtown campus. Students have to drive to get groceries and other things.”

Another student concern surrounding the issue of parking was the amount of the parking fines. For most parking violations the fine is $20. “I don’t think the university should charge so much per ticket,” Sophomore Ann Curby said.

According to Lawson, the revenue from parking tickets does not return to the police department’s budget. “It goes into general funds, some of it is earmarked for scholarships, some of it goes back to parking lots maintenance …… but none of it in any way shape or form comes back to our budget,” Lawson said. The financial and accounting services informed the Old Gold and Black that it does not distribute information about the university’s revenue from parking tickets.