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CAMPUS

Parking concerns linger despite new lot construction

By Jeff Laurendeau
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

What once were tennis courts on the NU campus are now student parking spots because of increased enrollment causing a space crunch, according to the head of security & safety, Chief Michael Abraham.

A new parking lot was built last summer where outdoor tennis courts used to be located, across from the Goodyear gate and beyond the telecommunications building.

The total parking on campus numbers 1,072 spaces, including faculty, staff and student parking. The new lot has created 111 more spots for commuter and residential students. The lot is split into three sections. The section on the left is for commuters, the right is for residential and the center is open for anyone.

The need for more parking is directly linked to university retention.

“We have greater retention, so that means throughout the sophomore, junior and senior class, there are more students,” Abraham said. “Since there are more students, there are more student vehicles. The tennis courts were pulled out to help support that population.”

According to Bizhan Yahyazadeh, director of facilities operations, the administration decided to build the parking lot to accommodate everyone. Retention and increased enrollment sparked the building of the new parking lot, opening up more spaces and leaving more spaces unused in some of the other parking lots.

“Right now, there are an average of 150 to 180 [unused] spaces available; without the parking lot, we did have enough,” Yahyazadeh said.

In addition to residential growth on campus, there are an increased number of commuter students, as well. This has also added to the parking crunch.

Chase Jenne, 21, a communications major and commuter student from Springfield, Vt., still finds it hard to park on campus.

“It does help a little bit that they made that new parking lot, but still, it’s a struggle to find spots any day,” Jenne said. “I thought it would open up more space, but it hasn’t.”

Other commuter students share Jenne’s frustration of not being able to park in convenient locations.

Robert Williams, 23, a criminal justice major from Skowhegan, Maine, agrees that the new lot has helped some but said, “Most students would not park all the way out there if they have a class in Webb; I’d rather just park by Plumley and walk up.”

Although some students don’t see the new lot as helping the situation, Tom Machnik, 20, a civil engeineering major from Old Lyme, Conn., agreed that, “You usually have to park further away, if you don’t come early in the morning, but it’s not as bad as it used to be.”

Overall, the parking issue is not necessarily a matter of enough spaces, but a matter of convenience for students, Abraham said.

“There is parking. We have more spots available than we have capacity of driving students, which is a good thing, but human nature says, ‘we want to park as close as we can’,” Abraham said. “They don’t want to walk.”

The residential and commuter students, along with the faculty and staff make up the Norwich community. Most need parking.

“There are designated areas to park, and if we all stick to those areas, it creates an orderly parking situation,” Yahyazadeh said, adding that convenience or lack of spaces won’t be an issue.

Commuter students are allowed to park just about anywhere on campus, getting the best opprotunities. The only spots not open to students are those reserved for faculty and staff.

Overall, parking on campus becomes a logistics issue, which is why cars get ticketed so heavily. When students don’t park where they are supposed to, it causes an inconvenience for those who need a parking space.

But in an effort to dispel the notion that there is a severe “parking crunch,” Yahyazadeh affirmed that there are, “Plenty of parking spaces on campus.

“Respect each other’s policy,” and there will be plenty of spaces for the entire Norwich community, Yahyazadeh said

The Norwich Guidon is a twice-monthly student newspaper distributed at Norwich University. It provides laboratory experience for students in the Communications program. Claims asserted by letter writers, editorials and other articles do not represent the positions of Norwich University. The Norwich Guidon welcomes signed letters to the editor. They should be no longer than 300 words. Unsigned letters will not be printed, but names may be withheld upon worthy request. All letters are subject to editing for length and good taste. Mailing address: The Norwich Guidon, Communications Center, Norwich University, 158 Harmon Dr, Northfield, VT 05663. www.norwich.edu/guidon.