Identifying parking issues
Faculty Concerns
- Faculty arrive for class and can't find parking; have too little time to drive around looking for spaces or have heavy loads to carry to their offices.
- People arriving for special events on campus can't find parking spaces and the campus isn't marked well enough to enable visitors to find alternative lots.
- Many part time faculty teach music in Watson and arrive with instruments or heavy materials and can't find parking; they are on a tight timeline.
- Many faculty feel as though they need to arrive an hour early in order to find a parking place near their buildings.
- Visitors to the campus for events during the day have a particularly difficult time finding parking. This is a concern for Admissions, as well as sponsors of meetings, conferences and performances.
Student Concerns
- Students want parking spaces near their respective dorms. They cite safety as a primary concern, unloading as another. Students point out that they pay a fee for a parking permit, which faculty and staff do not.
- Students are concerned about damage done to cars in outlying parking lots at night.
- Students feel that there is inconsistency in parking enforcement. Cars parked in faculty lots are ticketed and towed, cars parked inappropriately in student lots are not.
- Lack of parking for busy events and weekends: homecoming, sports events, performances in Watson.
- Students fear parking in distant lots and walking back to campus at night. They often have to wait in their cars for a Public Safety escort. They also have groceries and other heavy objects to unload.
- Students cite the availability of spaces in the "freshman" lot (on Pine Street) and feel that freshmen are parking in lots closer.
- Because of the parking shortage in lots closer to dorms, students often park their cars and don't move them during the day because they won't be able to find a space when they return.
- Students question the number of parking stickers issued, enforcement, (when cars don't have the appropriate sticker) and why seniors and juniors should have to park in the freshman lot.
Staff Concerns
- Need for improved signage and consistent enforcement on Howard Street and Fillmore Drive.
- Need for better and more visible signage in each parking lot (signs which indicate who may park there).
- Need for a better plan for event parking, Fine Arts events, and major College events (including the availability of handicapped spaces).
- Need for an easy to read/understand parking map to be posted in public places and in parking lots for visitors and current community members.
- Students and non-Wheaton visitors park in the faculty and staff lots, taking up the limited number of spaces.
- Faculty and staff commuters should be given priority during the week, and students on weekends.
- Need for more advance publicity on campus when major events will be held which affect the availability and location of staff/faculty parking.
- Parking regulations need to be enforced: ticket, tow rather than leaving cars with flat tires occupying spaces for extended periods of time.
It is clear that parking is a sensitive issue at the College and it became apparent to the members of the Committee that the needs of the three constituencies were in direct conflict with one another. Everyone would like to park in proximity to his or her office or residence hall. Everyone has needs for short term, immediate parking and a place to unload. Only students have a need for long-term parking. Visitor parking has placed increasing pressure on the availability of spaces, particularly in G Lot, where people attending campus events want to park.
Prior to the creation of P lot, students felt that G lot was the most distant from the campus and didn't like parking there. P lot is now perceived by everyone to be the most distant, least accessible and least desirable place to park. Although all lots (except P) are crowded, most other lots have designated constituents (faculty, staff, visitors, or students). G lot is assigned to all constituencies, the most visible to visitors coming to campus events, and closest to the new arts facilities.
Students sometimes leave cars parked there for extended periods, impeding the expected turnover of spaces for faculty and staff during the day and visitors at night. During the winter, student overnight parking makes plowing difficult and results in further loss of space.
The Committee focused on some short term solutions to the problems in G lot and event parking to be implemented in the spring semester, but has proposed broader changes in the parking policies and enforcement to be implemented in the fall semester, 2003.