With the 2016-2017 school year in full swing, Lipscomb has reported a decrease in enrollment over previous years. With a lesser number of students flooding the campus, somehow the parking problem has managed to become an even bigger nuisance for students.
Many Lipscomb students express frustration over lack of ability to find a parking space each morning.
“It’s crazy. I have to leave my house two hours before classes in order to find a parking spot, or I will be late to class,” freshman Sharry Gendi said.
Insufficient parking accommodations include blocked-off areas, visitor-reserved spaces and lack of open space in the current parking garage areas.
Special events are also a major source of frustration, according to students.
“Every time there is an event, I am unable to find a parking spot or get to class on time because all of the spaces are reserved by visitors,” senior Waymon Winfree said. “I am then forced to park far away and walk.”
Lipscomb Senior Vice President for Student Life Scott McDowell said that the Lipscomb administration is aware of the problems and is actively working towards a mutually beneficial solution.
“I think it’s a situation where we are close to capacity on campus and we plan to address that primarily with adding more parking, and there’s also the new shuttles,” McDowell said.
With the recent addition of a student shuttle service that runs approximately every 15 minutes, McDowell recommends taking advantage of several local parking lots that have recently been made available to Lipscomb students, such as the Stokes Elementary lot on Belmont Boulevard, the McCadams Athletic Center off Caldwell Lane and the Woodmont Hills church parking lot, located on Franklin Road.
Hospitality stations have also been set up at Stokes Elementary to provide refreshments for students as they prepare to walk to class.
“A lot of people want consistency,” McDowell said. “So knowing that the bus will show up at 7, and then 7:15 takes a lot of stress off.”
Last year, the “Parking Partners” program was introduced to Lipscomb staff and faculty. Through the program, incentives such as car washes and free lunch were given to staff and faculty who are willing to park in additional lots and participate in local carpools.
Lipscomb administration has also hired paid parking attendants to monitor availability and close lots as they become full, as well as redirect traffic towards open spaces during the busiest times of day.
The long term vision, according to McDowell, is to eventually move towards zoned parking, where all students will have assigned spaces.
This is a system he believes will work in alleviating the stress of what he calls the “hunting method” of finding parking, and also allow each student to have an individual parking space that is designated for the entire semester.
McDowell also pointed out that this is a statewide issue as Nashville population increases. For Lipscomb, the challenge is not simply finding ways to budget the increased need for more classrooms and adequate housing, but to balance that with the increased demand for sufficient parking, while still making the Lipscomb education affordable.
One parking space ranges in cost from $5,000 to $10,000 and over time these charges could indeed potentially result in increased tuition for students.
“We need to take the personal approach to parking that we take with everything else,” McDowell said. “And I’m not satisfied with it, and I want it to be better, and that is what we are working on.”
For the most up to date parking information, see Patrick Cameron’s weekly “Parking For the Week” emails, or view updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lipscombparking.
Photo by Whitney Smith