Parking frustrations shared among commuters and residents

At the beginning of the spring semester, all registered students were sent an e-mail about parking changes due to the construction near the Lower Great Hill lot. A new dorm is in BSC's future, and students were warned that with the construction on campus, would come some major changes in parking situations.

Students were informed that over 300 commuter parking spaces would be lost. There are plans to create a new lot that will be available for students in the fall. This lot will contain 600 available parking spaces.

For the time being students have been having to deal with the new parking policies. The Rosen Lot which used to be a resident lot has become a commuter lot, giving commuters 134 spots.

Resident students are now required to park in the Shea/ Durgin lot, an inconvenience for students.

"The parking situation was terrible as it was, and now it's next to impossible to get a spot passed 6 at night," said John Fralick. "When I can I get a spot in the resident lot, I hate parking at the hill."

The special Events lot is also open for resident students to use. Other resident students such as Kaitlyn Greenwood have not had too much difficulty adjusting to the changes.

"It hasn't really affected me because I usually park near the bridge anyways. I've noticed more spots open at that section of the resident lot because they opened up a lot right across from Miles/Dinardo," Greenwood said.

"As a resident with a car on campus, it hasn't affected me at all," student Joseph Dugdale agreed.

Commuters have had more of a problem finding convenient spots around campus.

"Before the construction of the new dorm began, I parked in Lower Great Hills," said Brian McNally, a commuter student. "After spring break, I began parking in Spring Lot, which is a much larger inconvenience. I used to be able to stop at my car between classes in order to exchange my books, however; now I end up carrying 5 books to every class and I'm usually late."

Another commuter, Amanda Cannon, has also experienced time difficulties due to the new parking.

"I used to park in Lower Great Hills, and now I park in Spring. I have found that anytime after 7:30 a.m. it is basically impossible to find a spot which is a huge inconvenience. I am very frustrated, annoyed, and not to mention often late for class. I don't understand why with a school of 60% commuters, they would take away so many parking spots," Cannon said.

Along with Spring St. parking, commuter students can also park in some available spots at the Swenson Field lot.

The frustration is evident in commuter students who have decided not to deal with the new parking issues.

"Honestly, I don't even bother trying to find parking anymore," said Rachel Kelly. "I live in Bridgewater, and though it is sometimes a problem, I have been having somebody drive me to school on a daily basis. It just isn't worth it, and waking up early to find a space is just ridiculous."

There are some BSC students that did not expect the new parking changes to affect them at all with a realization that it does, Bethany Gruneberg, a resident on Burrill Ave. does not live far enough from campus where she would have to drive, but she still found the new parking issues knocking on her door, literally.

"I've had a lot of people ask in they can park in my driveway because there's nowhere else to park; it definitely is affecting people," she said.