Lot 19 located in Mowatt Lane Garage.
CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, this article incorrectly stated why recruiters needed more parking in Lot 5. The article has since been changed to reflect this correction.
The struggle to find a parking space on the campus has made its way to Regents Drive Garage, right above the DOTS office, graduate students said.
After several students reported they were concerned there weren’t enough spaces in Lot 5, which is reserved for graduate students, the Department of Transportation Services offered permit-holders free parking for a year in return for switching to another lot. While enough students took DOTS up on the offer, according to Assistant Director Beverly Malone, officials then transferred half of a ramp to Lot B in order to increase spaces for university staff members, bringing the parking crunch back to Regents Drive in full swing.
Earlier this year, DOTS also switched too many spaces in Mowatt Lane Garage from Lot 19 to Lot U2, primarily for faculty and staff, resulting in many South Campus residents having to park in overflow lots as far away as Comcast Center. The department responded to concerns by adding 20 spaces to Lot 19 about two weeks ago.
“Regents Drive Garage is the most central garage, so it goes through more changes based on campus needs,” Malone said. “The staff in Lot B have priority over the grad students. We do offer the parking to the grad students, but it’s not always possible to deliver.”
Malone noted Regents Drive Garage serves a number of buildings, including the Stamp Student Union and Plant Sciences building, adding that officials also needed to open up more parking for the recruiters who come to the campus for the career center. Malone did not know how many remaining spaces are devoted to graduate students.
Astronomy graduate student Hannah Krug said she has been parking in Lot 5 for several years and the changes caught her and other graduate students off guard.
“For an undergraduate lot where parkers have varied schedules, this wouldn’t be too much of a problem, but DOTS does not seem to realize that graduate students are essentially required to be on campus all day, every day, and thus overbooking is a major issue,” Krug said. “This affects a large number of graduate students, which in turn could significantly affect those undergraduate students whom many of these graduate students teach.”
And with many commuters now forced to find parking elsewhere, such as Lot 4 or Lot 6 near Comcast Center, Krug said she has already seen several graduate students in her department come in late for meetings or classes.
“If I don’t get here before 10 a.m., I’ll be circling the lot for 20 or 30 minutes looking for a spot,” graduate entomology student Chris Taylor said. “The graduate students and the undergraduates should be treated differently when it comes to parking, and I thought DOTS understood that difference.”
Senior music education major Brendan Kelly, who has a permit for Lot 19, said it has been easier for him to find parking since DOTS opened up additional spaces. However, he said he was concerned that graduate students are now facing similar problems.
“It’s very interesting and not surprising at all that this is an issue in another lot,” Kelly said. “I hope they are able to resolve it and help out those grad students.”
DOTS Director David Allen said officials are continuing efforts to accommodate more student drivers who need to park on the campus.
“Right now, 50 students agreed to move to another lot,” Allen said. “But we will do as many as it takes to fix the problem.”
However, some graduate students said they felt as though DOTS has overlooked their needs.
“They completely exacerbated the problem,” Taylor said. “Why would they refund a ton of people and then turn around and devote some of the spots to Lot B? … I don’t think I should be paying $250 for this kind of treatment.”
