 "Photo: FILE PHOTO")
The plan to remove 200 parking spaces from the parking lot between the Muenster University Center and Beacom School of Business has commuter students worrying about available parking.
Junior Amanda Novak commutes to the university from her off-campus Vermillion residence and usually parks in that parking lot when there are spots available. A bad parking situation at her last college played a major role in the reason why she transferred to USD. She is concerned she might have left one bad situation for another.
“The parking there is terrible,” Novak said. “That’s one of the reasons why I transferred, because the parking is so close here.”
The parking lot west of the MUC and I.D. Weeks Library will be reduced from 330 available parking spaces to 130 “A” parking spaces, leaving a landscaped green space with sidewalks in its place.
Junior Lana Werdel, who also commutes, parks in the lot and said the project isn’t a smart move.
“No one will use the facilities near the parking lot as much,” Werdel said. “Trying to find parking spots here is hard enough and often makes me late for class.”
Although the project isn’t as large of a concern to them, juniors Chris Fitch and John Becker said the removal of the lot might cause problems like congestion of parked cars on the side streets. They said the construction is not necessary for campus.
“The school is very greedy to be spending all of this money after just constructing new buildings,” Fitch said. “They are building a lot of stuff too fast.”
The project was originally planned to be completed for the 2009-2010 fall semester, but due to inclement weather, it was pushed back until the completion of Coyote Village, Richard Van Den Hul, vice president of finance and administration said. The project is slated to be finished over the summer and completed for the 2010-2011 fall semester.
“We want to develop more of a campus feel, to soften it and open more spaces,” Van Den Hul said. “Then we will provide additional parking in the perimeter of campus.”
The parking lot near Coyote Village will add 682 parking spaces for commuters and students, Van Den Hul said. In addition, when Cypress and Redwood residence halls are torn down in the next two years, 80 more parking spaces will be available for commuters, he said.
Van Den Hul said there will be a shift of parking spaces around campus, but the changes will be adding 150 to 180 parking spaces for commuter parking.
“We will be increasing our parking spaces on campus by twenty percent,” Van Den Hul said.
SGA Senator Tim Carr said he doesn’t support the decision to remove the majority of the parking space behind the MUC. He said he didn’t think it made sense to build two new buildings on campus and then reduce the parking available to those buildings.
“It’s going to reduce the access to those buildings, which then reduces the use of the buildings,” Carr said.
Carr is a student representative on the USD Parking Master Plan Committee which was formed two months ago. The committee consists of parking experts, students, staff and faculty.
The committee will make sure all different perspectives on the parking situation are heard, Carr said. The committee will also address some of the problems of reducing parking in that area, such as increased foot traffic across Cherry Street and students walking at night, he said.
Carr said he encourages students to exercise their right to be heard and to bring their concerns to the attention of the committee.
USD President James Abbott said in an attempt to make campus more attractive, the administration and the parking committee is attempting to come up with a plan to create parking lots on the outside perimeter of campus.
“The general feeling is that the lot between the Al Neuharth Media Center and the MUC is simply not very attractive,” Abbott said.
Dean of libraries Anne Moore doesn’t think the parking lot change will have an effect on the amount of people that frequent the library, but said her concern is for the commuters who will be walking a few extra blocks.
“When you create a walking campus, it is safe, attractive and comfortable,” Moore said. “But problems arise when we experience the weather we do in South Dakota.”
Moore said she has been at a number of different universities with walking campuses, but they provide shuttle buses to bring people closer to their destination.
She said having a green campus is a great idea, but there needs to be a support system in place in order for it to function well.
“It would be beautiful to have that green space, but the missing link is transportation,” Moore said.
USD Parking Masterplan Committee chair Mindy Baylor, operations and policy specialist, said the goal of the committee is to look at how many parking lots around campus will be reduced and increased, The committee will assess the type of parking that should be available, look at parking permits and conduct comparisons with other universities.
“We kind of have a wide range of representation on the committee,” Baylor said. “And the ultimate goal is the master plan for parking.”
Cathy Wagner, director of planning and construction, said the committee fulfills a vital role in evaluating the parking situation and getting the input of representation from across campus.
“I think it’s a great opportunity the university is taking to evaluate different ideas like trying to make it a walking campus with more green space,” Wagner said. “It’s also a good chance to look at students needs and concerns for parking in general.”
Abbott said there will be plenty of parking available, but it will require a walk of about a block. To deal with traffic issues, the university has asked the state to put in a pedestrian light on the corner of Cherry and Rose Streets, Abbott said. He did caution there are no promises the request will be fulfilled by the state.
“I hope students support this change, but I understand that we’re adding some inconvenience,” Abbott said.
Reach reporter Josie Clarey at Josie.Clarey@usd.edu.
13 comments