Parking issues arise amid Heiser construction

Parking issues arise amid Heiser construction

 

Photo credit: Kaylie Stokes
Photo credit: Kaylie Stokes

In that 10-minute or so block of time before classes start, cars circle around campus trying to find an open spot.

With the expansion of Heiser, New College will be receiving new labs, teaching facilities, and STEM resources that will help our Natural Sciences students excel. But until that’s completed, the school is losing one key thing: parking.

The Heiser construction has closed a portion of one of the largest parking lots on campus – certainly the largest one on the west side of US41. With that closure, students are hard pressed to find a decent spot without having to travel to the other side of campus.

An email sent to the Students List from John Milton, a facilities staff member, states that the predicted completion date of the Heiser construction is Sept. 2017. The construction began on Aug. 15 of this year.

The closure has impacted faculty, too, with the ACE parking lot now solely designated for faculty and staff parking. While this helps free up a few spots for students and ensures faculty won’t have to park too far from their classrooms, it doesn’t solve the whole issue.

For third year Ava Howard, the problem impacts both school and work – Howard is currently an assistant manager at the Four Winds. “It’s all permit so even though we are an independent business, the public really can’t access it with two visitor spots,” Howard says, highlighting an issue that goes beyond the construction this year.

Howard also states that there’s not enough parking spots for commuter students and students with accessibility issues.

As an attempt to ease some of these issues with parking, two unpaved shell lots have been formed on both sides of Bayshore Road, north of the ACE classrooms.

Thesis student Francisco Perez imagines a different alternative: “I wish Z Green was a parking lot. That would make things a lot easier.”

Having trouble finding parking with the closing of the Heiser lot? Here’s some places to leave your car.

  • the caged area attached to the library
  • USF – Tampa
  • The “goals” section of your contract
  • Airport parking (for $15 a day)

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