The already limited parking situation in College Park just got a little more exclusive, thanks to new parking restrictions passed by the town council of neighboring University Park.
Ever since Guilford Drive and other areas behind Knox Road became permit-only parking areas in fall 2007, students living in Knox Boxes, Knox and Hartwick towers and other areas close by have sought refuge from expensive permits and coin-gobbling meters in the quaint, nearby town. But the movement has caused a chain reaction, and now University Park has passed similar restrictions.
Students looking for free places to park will now be forced to broaden their search even farther from the campus.
The town had posted two-hour limit parking signs on many of the streets right off of Route 1 after the initial influx of cars, but has now been forced to extend the restrictions and add more signs.
Earlier this month, the University Park Town Council unanimously passed legislation extending permit parking to Pineway, Clagett-Pineway, Oakridge, Beechwood, Holly Hill and Clagett roads, most of which are toward the middle of the development.
University Park Mayor John Tabori said the added signage and restrictions were necessary because student parking has migrated farther inside the developments and is inconveniencing residents.
“We’ve had a tremendous amount of complaints,” Tabori said.
Ward 2 Councilman Francis “Mickey” Lucas said that as parking problems at the university increase, so do problems in University Park. He said residents have been complaining that at times they can’t even park in front of their own houses.
“It’s increased more and more as the development increased,” Lucas said. “It seems to be moving around.”
Tabori said the problem isn’t limited to students, saying that nearby residents, employees at nearby businesses and university faculty and staff also clog the town’s streets. But while Tabori said citizens fear that students will continue to park illegally deeper in the community without town-wide legislation, he added he is still hopeful the town will not have to take more extreme measures.
“We will play it by ear,” Tabori said. “We don’t want to be a bad neighbor.”
Lucas said he is not so optimistic, however, predicting the parking problem will soon spread to other areas of the town. He said the original legislation included other areas of the city, but those provisions were dropped because residents there didn’t have the same concerns.
Senior government and politics major Marc Gimbel parks in University Park and is now forced to relocate his vehicle. Because his roommate already has one parking pass for a spot at their Knox Tower apartment, a second one would cost $800.
“It’s really the only [free] place I could find,” Gimbel said.
While he’s confident he will find another free place to park, Gimbel admits it will be a more inconvenient and longer walk to and from his car and a sure “pain in the ass.”
Other students said the lack of free parking on the campus is astounding and harmful to students’ schedules and wallets.
Junior history major Ben Kahn lives in South Campus Commons 6, but because of his academic standing – he had only completed 59 credits at the time – he was not given a parking pass to the Mowatt Lane Garage.
Instead, Kahn said he walks to Lot 2 and can’t find anywhere to park his car for free around his building without resorting to sneaking his car in and out of the garage.
According to University Park’s Director of Public Works Michael Beall, the signs will be posted as soon as it fits into their schedule, but should be installed by March.
University Park Police Lt. Wayne McCully said there will be a grace period for the first 30 days after the signs are posted before police start taking action against parkers. He said police will only give out warnings until people figure out new, legal places to put their cars.
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