Parking Woes at Belmont University
by
Belmont University has been dancing on the national stage recently. The eyes of the nation are on Belmont - a presidential debate in October - an NCCA Basketball entry during March Madness.
And while the university’s national prominence is growing, physically, campus size is restricted by surface streets.
Belmont is like a erudite sardine, packed in a tin can wrapped in thoroughfares named Wedgewood, 12th Avenue and Belmont Blvd.
This restrictive geographical boundary is what presents unique parking challenges for a growing number of students.
I visited the campus the other day and saw a lot of jostling for parking position.
There was a slight drizzle in the grey sky, but the air was warm.
Students dressed in flip flops and short skirts and sweat pants and t-shirts bustled back and forth toting back packs.
All around them, cars circled concrete parking lots, waiting to pounce, like buzzards hunting for road kill.
On campus I witness angst and frustration.
On nearby surface streets, I watch as drivers zip along Bernard Avenue hunting for a place to park. Driver after driver, face stern and eyes wide open, buzz by a row of parked cars. Many of these vehicles are all ready decorated with violations courtesy of metro parking.
Back on campus, I meet a couple of nursing students. The women tell me that parking is a huge issue. The women tell me they leave for campus 45 minutes early just to make sure they can find a place and not miss class.
“It is really bad,” one nursing student laments.
“You’re a kid,” I say jesting to the other young woman. “Deal with it.”
Her eyes roll around her sockets.
“There is a parking problem here. To spend 45 minutes looking for a spot, I don’t want to deal with that,” she says.
Moments later, in the heart of campus, I watch as a car comes whipping into a primo spot.
Kevin Buster is a senior studying music business. He pops out, big smile on his face.
“Dude, congratulations. Excellent spot.”
My enthusiastic greeting from the periphery catches the young man off guard.
“It’s kind of a miracle I found it,” he says beaming ear to ear.
University officials take parking serious.
“What we do is look at available parking and use those spaces as best we can,” Greg Pillon, Communications director tells me.
I tell Pillon there has been some scuttle butt on campus that there are 900 new freshmen this year and that is why students believe parking is almost impossible to find.
The former Channel 2 producer laughs and says that is not true.
Pillon does confirm that the campus is growing and there are more than 5,000 students this year, with about as many freshmen this year as last.
“It is no secret we have a lot of new growth. 261 new students,” he says.
Pillon says there is parking, just not all of it convenient.
He also tells me that there are a lot of parking strategies that the university has implemented that the students might not be aware of.
“What we look to do is look at available parking and use those spaces as best we can and I feel like we are doing that. As director of communication, we do have communication problems. And I take full blame for that. We are trying to do a better job at alerting students of available spaces here on campus. We have reissued spots, we do have a brand new garage over at Threllkeld. that was under utilized. I was just there and we do have 77 available spots at that location. We built a new sidewalk. We are giving students a different opportunity to park over there. we are Trying to shift things around. But I am the first to say, that the kids may not know that.”
Pillon tells me about a new garage on the fringe of campus, near Thrailkill Hall, that staff would like to encourage students to use.
“This new garage built is immediately across from the soccer field. What we did recently, there was a structure here on campus, that was removed and a sidewalk built to make access from this parking garage easier to campus.”
Pillon has a campus map open and his finger moves back and forth from the parking lot on the other side of 15th avenue to the main campus some 3 blocks to the south.
His finger makes the trip from parking area of hope to congested class area in about a second. If only it were that easy, I think to myself.
I let Pillon continue:
“We don’t make these decisions haphazardly. There is a parking team that analyzes these decisions at any given moment that is made up of students, faculty and staff. And we have made a conscious effort to get people where they need to be. Based on the residence space and where they are living.”
Pillon tells me the university has satellite parking, but does not offer shuttle busses. Not financially viable he says alluding to the short 3 or 4 block distance.
As for the public streets surrounding the campus?
“We don’t encourage anyone to be on public streets. we figure we can handle parking needs here on campus. When people park on public streets. They are issued a warning saying these are public streets and we encourage you to park on campus.”
Pillon later sends me this email as if he has not loaded me up with enough important parking facts: I appreciate his steadfast dedication to this issue and his desire to make sure that I get it right.
“One thing I had every intention to mention and forgot when you gave me the opportunity is the fact that Belmont provides free bus service and train service to all faculty students and staff. This is in addition to the Zipcars on campus that I mentioned yesterday on our phone call. This strategy is designed to provide transportatio
Loading …
