By By Jamie Herzing and Nicole DiGrazia
Commuter students want answers from the University on how it will compensate for the roughly 70 parking spaces that have been eliminated due to construction of a new academic building behind Memorial Hall.
Over the summer, the University informed commuters that the parking lot behind Breslin Hall and the law school would be exclusively designated for cars with commuter parking stickers. Some, however, say the new lot is just not enough.
Jen Chory, a senior whose Floral Park home is about 15 minutes from campus, leaves her house an hour early in order to find parking on the south side of campus.
“The new system helps, but there still aren’t enough spots,” she said, adding that she has waited for more than a half hour to gain access to the commuter lot, sometimes narrowly making it to class on time.
Other commuters have similar complaints. Jennifer Heller, a senior public relations major who commutes from Huntington, also experiences long waits and close calls getting to class on time.
“I don’t like it, obviously,” she said. “The lines are horrible. I don’t even try to park in the [commuter] lot anymore.”
Arianne Romeo, director of Commuting Student Affairs, said so far she has not received any complaints concerning parking. She is, however, prepared to make suggestions if the problem arises.
“There’s usually ample parking on the north side of campus,” Romeo said. “We try to encourage students to park there anyway so that they’re walking through the Student Center where a lot of club offices and activities are located.”
Not all commuters are satisfied with this solution, however.
“I would park on the north side of campus,” Heller said. “But even that side has its issues. I’m not parking by Nassau/Suffolk, while someone who lives there drives to Bill of Rights to park.”
One point of contention is the incongruity between the number of commuters attending the University and the number of parking spaces in the commuter lot. Including part-time, graduate and law students, the commuter population is approximately 6,000 while the new commuter lot only offers about 500 spaces.
Some commuters are also upset the new lot reserves spots for faculty members with valid identification.
“Faculty members can park in the commuter lot free and clear,” Heller said. “We’re the ones paying $20,000 a year to be here. We should be able to park and not have to worry.”
Stephanie Vincent, junior psychology major, has not experienced many parking problems, but sympathizes with those who do.
“Commuters should have priority since they don’t have any other options really,” she said. “[The University] should just build a parking garage. It’s not that hard.”
Ed Bracht, director of public safety, is wary of making such an addition.
“A parking garage would be extremely expensive and we already have ample parking on campus,” Bracht said. “We have 6,840 parking spots on campus and at anytime I can show you 500 that are empty, especially on the north side of campus.”
Bracht said the University must carefully consider the ways in which its funds are spent, adding that it makes more sense to build things the campus is lacking rather than undertake an expensive project to add more of something the campus already has. He agreed with Romeo in encouraging students to park on the north side of campus and pass through the bustling Student Center. Both felt this would be helpful in getting commuters involved in on-campus activities.
“We are always taking the commuter students into consideration,” Bracht said. “This year is the first year we put in a commuter parking lot and so we’re always trying to improve. The problem is not that we don’t have the spaces. The problem is that everyone wants to park right next to their classrooms.”
Nonetheless, many commuter students are disgruntled and believe the University should consider other options. Some suggest the University change its policy of allowing freshman residents to have cars, though Romeo disagreed with the proposal.
“Allowing freshmen living in the residence halls to have cars on campus is a positive aspect of the University that makes it stand out from other schools,” Romeo said. “I wouldn’t really like to see that taken away.”
Bracht added he believes the issue among students, both commuters and residents, stems not so much from a lack of parking, but a lack of convenience.
“I firmly believe we have a walking problem, not a parking problem,” he said.
Commuters resort to illegal parking, risking parking tickets and towing fees, in order to arrive to class in time. (Harry Tanielyan/The Chronicle)
Drivers circle the commuter parking lot, waiting for others to pull out and immediately claiming spots as they appear. (Harry Tanielyan/The Chronicle)