After several winter snowstorms, students are familiar with the automated phone message from the Tufts police telling them to park their vehicles in a safe spot. Though the message is often ignored by students who have no car, for those who do, it creates a scramble to find a legal parking space.
Students have long complained that parking on campus is a nightmare, but the most recent in a series of changes to campus parking regulations has somewhat alleviated student discontent.
Parking for sophomores was expanded over the course of the past year. Vehicles displaying either the yellow or silver "S" decal may now park during the day and overnight in the Cohen, Hill, Miller, and Carmichael lots, in addition to at Cousens. Last fall, students with a yellow decal gained the privilege of parking in residential lots. When this measure proved successful, it was extended to all sophomores.
The Department of Public and Environmental Safety has been tinkering with parking policies since last fall, when the opening of the Dowling Hall parking garage freed up a large number of parking spaces on campus. As throngs of commuters and faculty began to utilize the Dowling facility, the parking demands in other lots decreased, and new spots were reallocated for student parking.
"The revisions this year have changed the very long-standing policy of students parking exclusively in the Cousens lot," Director of Public Safety John King said. "We have the students' safety in mind as our number one priority, but we're also looking to make things more convenient for them as well."
Starting Nov. 1, the Department of Public Safety counted of the number of parking decals sold to sophomores. When it found that students with parking decals that provided access to up and downhill parking were not flooding the available lots, the department decided to extend sophomore parking privileges to those students with either yellow or silver parking decals. But sophomores who did not purchase parking decals before Feb. 6 are only allowed to park at Cousens.
The new regulations have been successful in easing sophomores' parking woes, according to King, who said his office has only received one student complaint about campus parking. "Usually, students are pretty responsive," King said. "We've received really no positive nor any negative feedback _ it's still a look and see sort of process."
Sophomores agree with King's assessment that the changes are beneficial: "It's so nice being able to park near my classes and near my dorm," Mary Ann Kuruvilla said. "I feel a lot safer now that I don't have to walk all the way uphill from the Cousens lot by myself at night."
"I think that the new parking enforcements are great," Kim Trabka said. "The only problem is that I don't have the opportunity to park in the available spaces because I didn't purchase a decal in time. I still have to search for parking along Boston Ave."
While sophomores seem pleased with the parking revisions, some upperclassmen complain that they are experiencing a parking shortage because sophomores are taking their spaces.
"I've already received three parking tickets this year," said Alex Alexiou, a junior. "I'm down at Aidekman a lot and don't even bother with parking anymore because nothing's ever available. When I'm in a rush to get to class, it's a real pain to have to circle around the lot searching for spaces."
The goal in formulating parking regulations, according to King, is to create options that are as efficient and safe as possible. The task is difficult, he said, and it is often impossible to please everyone. Prior to the revisions made last November and this February, the Department of Public Safety heard several student proposals for parking policy changes.
"One consideration is that every change made will positively affect one thing and adversely affect another," King said. "The goal here is to try and maintain some sort of balance."
Sophomores are prohibited from parking in the Latin Way and Jackson Lots, a provision which King hopes will accommodate upperclassmen who park on campus.
In addition to this new development, the Department of Public Safety has tried to be as lenient as possible with students parking in areas where they are not designated to park, like on Professors Row.
"We are very understanding of the concerns students present to us _ if someone parks in an undesignated parking zone at the beginning of a semester, we'll let that slide, but if it happens during the middle of the year when the rules have already been clearly laid out, then that's when we have to enforce the regulations," King said.
Public Safety also decided not to close the Cousens lot overnight because it is still convenient for some members of the Tufts community like sports teams who leave their equipment there for easier accessibility.
"We allowed greater flexibility for "cross-campus" or "out of designated area" parking during weekends and off-peak hours," King said. "It just seemed like the right thing to do from a customer service standpoint.... The philosophy here is not 'Let's tag people and fine them' _ that's a negative tool of enforcement," he said.
