This week, Director of Campus Safety Frank Coots announced in an email to the student body that the college added two additional areas for student parking. This update comes as students have continuously expressed dissatisfaction over the limited parking spaces on-campus. These added locations are a result of work done between Coots, students, Student Assembly, Bon Appetit, and Facilities Management personnel.
The first added area is the parking lot closest to Babbitt Pavilion on the dark side of campus, which was originally designated solely for Bon Appetit parking. Now, the lot will be divided between Bon Appetit personnel parking and student parking. The second addition is 56 spots in the area formerly named the “Old Tennis Courts,” located adjacent to the new field house.
Students felt that there is an insufficient amount of parking spots available in reasonable walking distance from their dorms and classes. The original and largest option provided by the college is the parking lot located in the North and New Lots on Campus Road across from the softball and baseball fields. This option is about a mile from the dark side and a fifteen-minute walk from the Bundy Residence Halls. The additional parking near Babbitt Pavilion will hopefully serve as an alternative to this mile-long trek and improve the experiences of students living on the dark side.
Some students living on dark side continue to feel frustrated with the situation.
Katherine Solohub ’23 explained that for her, “it’s better than it was before. Sometimes there are spots, but we definitely still need more.” Ellis Strutton ’23 felt even more strongly that there needs to be further changes made: “I don’t even bother with the Babbitt Pavilion Lot, even though I live in Babbit. It’s not worth driving around looking for spots. I park in Ferg and North lot and do the walk. Or I just don’t use my car at all.”
In his email, Frank Coots acknowledged that these two new additions fall short of solving the overall issue for students, however, he hopes that this update will make parking on campus less stressful as we transition into winter.