December 6, 2009
RICHMOND, Va. -- The University of Richmond has undertaken four major construction projects that are reducing available commuter parking spaces in several lots around campus.
The university has reassigned some of the already-limited commuter lots (C-lots) near work areas to construction workers, providing space for worker parking, construction equipment, several trailers, and several portable bathrooms.
In one parking lot alone, Andrew McBride, an architect for the university, said they “lost probably 60 parking spaces.” In all, he went on, “at least a couple hundred, maybe 300” spaces have been sacrificed to the workers.
The university has allowed displaced commuters to park in alternate lots around campus, but at peak hours, usually between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., many of the lots become overcrowded, forcing students to circle until a space becomes available or try a different lot altogether.
Additionally, construction has closed both law school parking lots. Law students are also being relocated to the already-overcrowded alternate lots.
“The law students have been the ones that have been most affected” by the construction, said McBride, noting that the east grandstand for the new E. Claiborne Robins Stadium encroaches on a previous law school lot. The lot on the other side of the stadium, also usually reserved for law students, has also been converted. “Half of that parking lot is basically a road,” McBride said.
Some commuter students, like senior Hayley Swinson, complain that while the university provides more than adequate parking for faculty and staff, some professors park in student spots. Since students are not permitted to park in faculty spaces, Swinson said, there is no way to relieve the overcrowding.
“It’s frustrating…because some of the professors will park in student parking spots even though there are plenty of spaces in their lot, and I end up circling for ten minutes trying to find a spot.”
In response to the lack of parking spaces, many students began parking in grassy areas between spots. However, university parking services was quick to crack down on the illegal parking with a flurry of parking violations.
“That eliminated…10 or 15 potential additional spaces,” said Swinson. “There’s a lot of pine straw in there that isn’t taken up by spaces….I don’t see why that was a problem. It’s not like they were parking in a garden.”
Since parking violations are billed directly to the student’s account, many students do not realize the effects of parking illegally until the end of the semester. And some students, said Swinson, simply do not care.
“Some students, assuming their parents are paying their student accounts, don’t really care that they’re getting parking tickets,” she said. In some instances, she continued, students have added thousands of dollars to their tuition because of tickets.
And as for the students who continue to neglect their violations, “eventually they get their cars kicked off campus,” said Swinson.
Though the new construction and renovations will add more than 100,000 square-feet to the university’s facilities, there are no plans to expand parking. While he admits that “parking has certainly been an issue,” McBride said that the issue concerns the convenience, not number, of parking spots.
“We’re not adding any new parking,” McBride said. “We’ve got plenty of parking on campus. It’s just is it where you want it to be?”
Juxtaposed from displaced commuters, junior resident student Casey Kelly said she doesn’t have much trouble with parking on campus. While the construction projects do create a dangerous and noisy environment, Kelly noted “they don’t interfere with [her] life too much.”
However, parking is not only a problem during classes. Various sporting events around the campus attract audiences from the entire Richmond area.
“When we have a basketball game, parking is pretty tight,” said Kelly. And with the addition of the Robins Stadium, scheduled for completion in August of 2010, the influx of fans for home games might further strain the limited parking.
Kelly, a lacrosse player at the University of Richmond, said she is not excited about the university’s decision not to increase parking to accompany the new 8,600-seat stadium.
“Once we get the stadium on campus there [are] going to be a ton of people coming in for the games,” said Kelly, adding, “I don’t know how much of a say I’m going to have on if they create more parking, but it would probably be a good idea if they did.”
In addition to the stadium, the university’s construction projects include an expansion of the Westhampton Deanery, including the addition of the Westhampton Center, a collaborative space for students; the Carole Weinstein International Center, designed to enhance the school’s treatment of international studies; and Queally Hall, an addition to the Robins School of Business. The reassigned lots will remain closed until the construction projects are completed by the end of 2010.
For more detailed information on the University of Richmond’s construction projects and parking lot closures, visit the university’s Web site at www.richmond.edu.
No comments:
Post a Comment