Originally published November 19, 2010
Student Senate passed a resolution Monday recommending the university take action to provide more accessible parking to students.
The resolution draws attention to several flaws and suggests four changes be made to improve parking on campus.
Those changes are stopping parking fines after 5 p.m. instead of the current time of 7 p.m., access to 15-minute parking outside of residence halls, the ability for students to purchase visitor parking passes at any time and parking rules and regulations are clearly defined and presented to the student body.
“I feel like parking is always complained about on campus,” said Chairwoman of Campus Affairs Amanda Wenger. “Campus parking isn’t always available, and things like 15-minute parking provides more options to students.”
The resolution recommends “Two (2) meters be installed outside of University Hall, Harper-Wyckoff Hall, and Heitz Hall/ the Singles Complex and strategic areas around the St. James Apartments allow the temporary (15-minute) parking for students.”
Senator Lanada Cunningham said during a general assembly meeting she is in favor of adding parking meters to provide temporary parking.
“I feel like that would be a good idea,” she said. “Living in a residence hall I don’t want to get a ticket if I’m just taking my groceries in.”
Another recommendation of the resolution is that a QuickCash kiosk be installed outside of the Visitor Center to allow students to purchase daily parking passes for guests to park in the visitors’ lot.
“I think that this is a good idea,” said sophomore psychology major Anna Murr. “Last year when I had a friend visit it was a big hassle trying to find a place to park. You can only park in the parking spots on campus until 7 a.m. on weekdays, so we moved the car into the visitor’s lot that morning and he still got a ticket. I would have taken advantage of a parking pass kiosk because parking in the visitors’ lot gives you a secure place to park.”
Wenger said she thinks the most important recommendation for the university is to provide the student body with more education on the parking rules and regulations in order to clearly define parking procedures for students.
“A lot of people don’t understand the entirety of the policies because the only time you get educated on the policies is when you buy a parking permit,” Wenger said. “People who buy the permits aren’t the only people on campus who are affected by the policies. I think that this is the easiest suggestion to get around, education is the easiest and best way to make sure people get what they want”
Senator Jami Smith told the general assembly she agrees with Wenger and thinks educating students about parking would be beneficial.
“Freshman year and even sophomore year I had no idea what the rules were about parking on campus,” she said. “I feel that if we educate people about parking it will save them a lot of money in parking tickets.”
Wenger said she hopes students will like the changes suggested in the resolution and that there is a positive response.
“I think it will be good. If anything I think students will be asking more questions and asking why we aren’t addressing other problems with parking,” she said. “The resolution is so small, and I think it will be a gateway to opening up more questions about parking on campus, and students will encourage more changes.”
