Parking controversy persists

Students, faculty, administration looking for changes

With student votes still being calculated from the commuter survey sent to all commuting drivers Monday, Nov. 7, it is unclear as to whether or not Liberty University will be experiencing the proposed parking changes in the spring.

Since the beginning of the Fall 2011 semester, parking has been an issue, Director of Financial Research Richard Martin, who designed the current parking system, said. The biggest issue is commuter parking.

According to Martin, lots were oversold at too high a ratio for the influx of students on main campus.

“Parking is more competitive this year,” student Christina Edney said. “I feel like there are more students and less parking. I have been trying to get to school during breaks staying in one area and watching for cars to leave, but even with getting to school early, it is hard to find spots near my classes.”

Edney is not alone in her parking experience. Teachers, too, are having a difficult time with the overcrowded lots and late students.

“The beginning of class is important because it gets everything started on a certain tone,” Communication Studies Professor Dr. Lynnda Beavers said. “It is best if everybody is in class, settled down and ready to work. Students who come in late (because of parking problems) can be a disruption and may continue to be counted absent if they don’t remind me to mark them present.”

Because the university has implemented the new attendance policy as of the beginning of last academic year, students being late and absent could crucially hurt their grades, according to Liberty’s 2011 attendance policy.

“One problem for me is that while the parking situation is real, I don’t have any way to know if students are telling me the truth or using parking as a lame excuse,” Beavers said.
“It is a popular excuse now, and some of it may be legitimate, some of it not.”

However, this mindset is hurting students as well.

“In two of my classes, the teachers are very strict about tardiness,” Edney said. “I leave an hour early, and I get there 45 minutes in advance and can’t find parking. My class grade has dropped a letter because it can’t be proven that my reason for being tardy is because I can’t find a parking spot.”

Another concern for both professors like Beavers and the administration is poor planning on behalf of students.

“I would say that (giving yourself enough time to get to class) is a pretty typical expectation for students and employees of most any college,” Martin said.

Even with the addition of new parking lots and a revised plan, students will still need to plan to have a few minutes to find open spaces, Jerry Falwell Jr. said.

“Students may not leave their homes early enough to search for a parking place. Many times they give themselves just enough time to get to class — assuming that everything works out perfectly in traffic, on the train tracks and in the parking lot,” Beavers said. “Students may have tight schedules with work and classes, but often they plan badly, too.”

The administration, however, is offering students assistance in understanding time management.

“Regardless of what plan we implement, the parking maps for next semester will include estimated walk time from each lot to DeMoss to help students plan walk time,” Martin said.

However, if the new parking plan is not embraced by the commuter students, there are ways to plan ahead to ensure a parking spot, according to research the Liberty Champion has recorded over the past three weeks, along with numbers Martin has been recording for the past 11 weeks.

According to the results of the Champion’s research, there are dead time zones that should be avoided by drivers on campus. The results were recorded every hour on the hour by staff and students.

According to the research, commuter students with the red parking sticker should avoid attempting to park at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

During these times, the only available spaces are on the perimeter of the campus.

Martin’s finding were similar to the Champion’s, with the dead time zones being 10:45 a.m., 11:24 a.m., 12:42 p.m. and 1:20 p.m.

Avoiding parking during peak hours could save students time and money, according to Martin.

With the new parking plan, as designed by Martin and the rest of Liberty’s administration, they are hoping to calm the current frustrations echoing from the campus population, as well as lessen the dead time zones.

However, like Edney, not all commuter students are backing this new plan.

“I did not vote for the new parking because I have a carpool pass. I find easy parking now,” Liberty student Sarah Dykstra said. “I would hate to get stuck in a random drawing and end up having to park at Green Hall or Campus East.”

The proposed new plan will come in two sections, according to Falwell. The commuter students are only voting to enact one section.

The administration has already begun moving forward with a portion of the new plan, according to Falwell.

In the spring semester, the administration is proposing the addition of 630 new parking spaces, according to Liberty’s Corporate Engineer in Planning and Construction Maggie Cossman.

There will also be 600 on-campus vehicles moved into perimeter lots, creating an additional 1,230 spaces for commuters to park in.

“The parking plan of any large organization like Liberty is heavily dependent on campus-wide adherence to policy,” Martin said. “Students and employees that park in any area where they are not supposed to, even for a quick ‘5-minute run,’ creates a domino effect that cannot be adequately addressed by simply adding parking spaces.”

Vehicles parked illegally are a large part of the parking problem, according to the Champion research. At any given time there are from 5- 68 illegally parked cars in commuter lots on campus.

According to Martin, even if the commuters do not vote to enact the section of the plan proposing gates on each lot, there should be enough additional parking added that every commuter will be able to find a parking spot if they leave themselves adequate time to find a space before walking to class.

“We need every commuter to vote for the parking plan they prefer. A strong response from commuters will tell us what needs to be done to address the parking issues,” Falwell said. “A weak response will force us to make the decision for commuters. Either way, faculty will be less likely to excuse tardy and absent students next semester. Now is the time for commuters to make their wishes known.”