DOTS announces new football gameday parking rules, locations

Mowatt Lane Garage is located between Van Munching Hall and the Commons apartment complexes, and offers both permit and visitor parking areas.

As the University of Maryland enters its sophomore football season in the Big Ten, Department of Transportation Services officials have announced in new parking regulations to accommodate gameday traffic.

Commuters and guests visiting the campus for academic or professional purposes on a game day will be required to obtain a free parking permit in advance, DOTS Assistant Director Anna McLaughlin said.

These permits will allow students, faculty and employees to park in designated spots in the Regents Drive, Mowatt Lane and Terrapin Trail parking garages.

The new regulations will guarantee commuters and campus visitors parking on crowded game days, said Armand Scala, DOTS senior associate director.

“The reason this all started is because we know that, especially next year, we’re going to lose a lot of parking for football tailgating,” Scala said. “In addition, we lost a lot of parking from Paint Branch Lot, which was also used for tailgating.”

In future years, Scala expects there will be parking challenges, especially as the university loses parking in Lot 1 and Lot Z.

Last year, if commuters or other campus visitors visited the campus on a game day for professional or academic purposes, they were not guaranteed parking, said Amanda Long, DOTS assistant director.

Parking was available in designated lots for non-gameday visitors on a first-come, first-served basis. If all those lots were full, visitors were required to park in metered lots, she said.

Football game attendees take up a lot of campus parking, Scala said, and at least 30 to 40 spaces in all of the larger university lots are used for gameday parking.

Despite DOTS’ efforts to guarantee parking for everyone this year, officials expect some pushback from Saturday visitors and commuters, Long said.

“We anticipate that some students will push back against the changes,” she said. “There is rationale behind [it], and it’s really being done to help the entire community, including the fans, faculty and students.”

Sophomore Alex Fuksenko, who commutes to the campus, said he thinks the changes sound “a little silly.”

“I think commuters need to be taken care of more,” said the computer science major. “We buy a $300 parking pass, but if we don’t take initiative then we may have to pay for parking. A lot of commuters could be forced to pay, but there are so many free transportation systems at Maryland.”

Porscha Silva, a sophomore engineering major and commuter student, agreed with Fuksenko.

“It’s kind of inconvenient because I’m one of those people who would forget to get the pass beforehand,” Silva said. “I’d rather just get there early for a first-come, first-served sort of thing.”

Commuter student Lena Warrak, however, prefers the new regulations over last year’s approach.

“I think that’s an awesome change,” said Warrak, a sophomore enrolled in letters and sciences. “It’s great that you have a guaranteed spot. [But] I definitely think people are going to take advantage of it for football parking because I can definitely see a bunch of people that I know as commuters picking up their friends and going to a football games.”

DOTS officials share the same concerns as Warrak.

To prevent commuters and other visitors from using these permits as free gameday parking, officials are requiring permit applicants to provide proof of their reason for attending the campus.

“A commuter student should not be using this system to obtain free gameday parking,” McLaughlin said. “If they are using their permit to attend a game, then technically they need to purchase a gameday permit.”

Though DOTS officials expect some negative responses to the changes, they are trying to “ramp up” the football game and tailgating atmosphere while trying to accommodate as many usual commuters as possible, Scala said.

“The fan experience is important, but our regular parkers are also important,” Long said. “Before, [commuters] could get turned away from certain locations if they were full. This way, we’ll have a better idea of how many people are coming, and they can find parking with as little inconvenience as possible.”