Proposal Would Ban Freshman Parking on Spine

The Department of Parking and Transportation has proposed banning all freshmen from parking near the academic spine from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., in an effort to alleviate parking congestion on campus.

If passed, the proposal would go into effect for the 2005 fall semester. All incoming freshmen would still be permitted to bring vehicles to campus, but both resident and commuter freshmen would only be allowed in either the residential or park-and-ride lots during designated hours.

According to one parking official, the proposal is twofold: it would help solve parking problems while also increasing awareness of the benefits of the park-and-ride shuttle system.

"Education is key here," said Maria Wallace, assistant director of Parking and Transportation. "I've had students come into my office with outstanding parking tickets, telling me they don't know how to use the shuttle system. I've had juniors tell me they don't understand the system."

Under the plan, for the first two weeks of school aides would be stationed in the park-and-ride lots and would ride on the shuttles with students so they could assist them in utilizing the on-campus transportation.

"There's this fear of 'Where do I go?' associated with riding the shuttle system if you aren't familiar with it," Wallace said. "We think that the personal touch of the aides on those shuttles will help to alleviate these fears and educate the students about effectively using on-campus transportation."

Students like Megan Owens, a freshman undecided major, have mixed feelings about the proposal.

"It seems like a good idea for an attempt to solve the parking lot hell they've got over there, but at the same time, it seems like they haven't thought it all the way through," Owens said. "A bunch of freshmen don't even have cars. I think what they need to do is prohibit the kids who live in the residence halls from parking on the spine during a set time during the day. That would make a lot more sense, and those lazy kids who have to drive the two feet over there can get up and walk or take the bus for a change."

Megan Meyer, a junior history major, had a similar opinion of the situation.

"It's a good point that freshmen shouldn't be driving their cars from the residence halls to the spine, but it really should be all Ellicott residents that are prohibited from parking on the Spine when they would walk over or take the shuttle," Meyer said.

Wallace said that by restricting parking privileges, the department is trying to encourage students to utilize the shuttle systems.

"If you look at other schools, several don't allow freshmen to have cars on campus at all, and they don't have a sophisticated transportation system like ours," she said. "We're just trying to make the most of the resources available to us."

The proposal, which is awaiting approval, has already been presented to student groups within Student Affairs, the Residence Hall Association and Admissions.

Wallace said most have greeted the plan with praise and support, and the next step is to present the proposal to the student governments and get feedback from both students and faculty.

The proposal garnered mixed reactions Wednesday when it was brought up at a Student Association Senate.

According to Senate Chair Mazin Kased, the group's research committee will look into the proposal, and the Department of Parking and Transportation will formally present it to the Senate in the near future.

"You have to see what they're telling you and then we have to see what we find ourselves," Kased said. "Every problem has a solution, but it causes another problem. You're going to have problems regardless. What we have to do is try to alleviate as many problems as possible, and that's why we're looking into this."

The idea of tagging cars of students in the dorms, to stop drivers from Ellicott taking up parking spaces near the Spine, was also discussed at the Senate meeting.

Wallace said the plan could only be effective if the Department of Parking and Transportation gets student feedback.

"We're doing our best to alleviate these problems, but we can't be effective unless the students tell us what they want changed," she said. "I encourage students to come in and tell us what they think should be done so that way we can do our best to please the majority."