By Briaunna Konz, Lindsey Kaat & Tania Antonio
The University of Wisconsin Green Bay is undergoing many building and parking lot changes that began last school year. A new apartment-style residence hall, catered towards sophomore-standing students, is being built in the Main Housing Lot. This new building and construction forced the closure of the Main Lot, making students who live on the east side of campus park in two other nearby lots. A domino effect was then created, with commuters struggling to find parking in the lot they always use, campus residents struggling to find parking spots, a new parking lot needing to be paved, and so on. During this construction, the campus decided to begin repaving the Traditional Apartments Lot. Students can no longer park there during the lot paving, creating another domino effect of parking in nearby lots, causing a parking fiasco on campus for everyone. However, it is being seen more as an inconvenience for the students by some rather than an actual issue that needs a solution, as others see it.
This ongoing issue has caused multiple struggles for students throughout the semester. Ryan Kroll, a senior who lives on campus, states, “I have had to plan my day around when the parking lot is busy. At the beginning of the semester, I used to return to campus at noon, but there would not be any open spots in the Studio Arts parking lot, and I would have to drive around for 10 minutes looking for a spot.”
Last year, the studio arts parking lot had more spaces available due to the smaller number of students on campus. However, students still dealt with parking lot issues in other areas of the campus. Ryan Kroll, a senior, states his concern, “Last year, parking was spectacular until they closed the parking lot by the Kress Center where they are building the new dorm hall. Once that parking lot was closed, it made it very difficult to find a spot at times, but not nearly as bad as this year.” Although the studio arts parking lot may not have been as full, another parking lot had the same issue.
Cause and Effect
The parking lot closures created limited space and resources on campus, resulting in students taking their own actions. There are 4,492 parking spaces across campus, and there has been a recent loss of 500 stalls. Due to construction, there are various problems; students will still be parking in parking spaces they should not be parking in, such as handicapped spaces or visitor parking. However, this creates another concern: housing. All students staying on campus will be relocated to a different building away from construction sites and with the process of a new dorm that is being built, effectively located near the Kress Events Center.
The University Wisconsin of Green Bay campus police department states that the most prominent issue is students are not willing to walk the extra mile only because they want immediate parking. Lieutenant Aaron Walker, #722, states, “Folks don’t want to walk. They want to be able to get out of their cars and walk not so much. UWGB has no parking issues. It’s just students not wanting to walk that extra distance.” When asked how they have dealt with this issue, Lieutenant Walker stated multiple times this is not an issue. However, what they have done is accommodate students with warnings instead of tickets.
Walker also stated, “What we cannot do is keep giving out warnings to students who constantly keep doing the same thing over and over.” He went on to explain that if students need accommodations, they need to get those approved by the Dean of Students’ office.
This issue is predominantly a “CASE by case. There is no way to look at it. The biggest issue is students coming in and saying, ‘I got a ticket, but I did not get a warning.’ We are not required to give you one, or students will come in saying they incorrectly typed in their plates. The way we dealt with them was by voiding the tickets.” As a result, this creates tension for students. Lieutenant Walker had this to say when asked if this was such a common issue before, “Yes and No, it wasn’t because we had more stalls available to park closer, but again, you had that small percentage of students not caring and parking in places they shouldn’t. Plus, we have parking fees generated by minivans that I know a lot of students see because we try to get out there in the parking lots to catch students who are supposed to be parked there but with permits.”
Student & Professor Reactions
While there’s been a lot of excitement and anticipation about a new housing option for students and changes being made, there has been some backlash from students. Carly Richards, an on-campus resident and Education major, states her opinions; “It has been difficult to find parking when I go grocery shopping and come home on Sunday nights, and it has affected my daily trip by not being able to find spots as easily. The parking lot has been full, and when I have a lot to carry, it has been harder to carry all my groceries to my apartment.” One of her roommates had to park in a visitor’s lot during the day and move her car at night just so she didn’t get a ticket because there weren’t any spots open.
Professors, while not as affected by the changes, have some different thoughts on the matter as well. Professor Philip Clampitt, a Communication Professor at UWGB, says the construction and lack of parking haven’t affected his day-to-day travels to campus. Professor Shauna Froelich, also a Communication Professor at UWGB, agrees with Clampitt. “I walk a few more feet. I park behind the Kress and walk a trail to MAC,” she stated, also mentioning she is enjoying the extra walk. Clampitt made the point that with the looming budget cuts across campus, professors and staff are more concerned with that than where they are going to park for the day.
Overnight parking for students is only allowed in the Studio Arts, Walter Way, East Housing, and Main Housing lots. Other lots are prohibited from overnight parking and will result in a ticket unless circumstances are present, such as the construction of the Main Housing Lot. The Kress lot would then be open for overnight student parking.
Possible Solutions
The increased capacity of the studio arts parking lot has affected students, commuters, and professors at UWGB in both a positive and negative way. Each one of them was asked how the issue could be solved. Mason Renard, a senior who lives on campus, provides a solution, “The campus could create more parking lots for commuters so that they are not taking up the parking spots for the people who are living on campus, or just make another parking lot, in general, to get back some of the lost parking spaces. Another thing they could do is charge more for a parking permit so that fewer people would bring their cars to campus if they did not need to. By doing so, they could get a better bussing system that is more catered to the students so that they could get around Green Bay better and more efficiently, making everyone happier.”
On the other hand, Professor Froelich, a Communications professor at UWGB, views the situation as a way for students to get their steps in, stating her solution to “find a lot that you don’t drive around in circles to find a spot to park. And enjoy a few extra steps in the fresh air.”
A commuter, Hannah Schnell, understands the overfilled parking lot and suggests another solution, “I really don’t think there’s much that could be done to make the parking lot less full. The only thing I could think of is if students with parking passes would be able to use the visitor lot, but I would understand if that’s not feasible. I get that this is only temporary, and soon enough, there will be ample parking spots for students to use after construction has finished.”
Another possible solution proposed by students is constructing a parking garage in the studio arts lot or Kress parking lot. This will also help to fix the issue students have been facing in the winter with getting parked in from the snowplows. Carly Richards made a point by saying, “It would help students who need to drive places… such as education students, to their field placements. They are mandated to attend, as well as nursing students who need to drive to their clinics in the winter, and they have car troubles often. I personally have been late to my field placement due to winter car troubles, where my tires were frozen to the ground, or I’ve been plowed in and stuck one semester, and I needed to problem-solve to leave my parking spot. I think this would also help to add more parking and would not take up as much space since it would be taller, and less land would be used for parking”. Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin, has a parking structure that has been well-used and liked for many years.
Professor Froelich’s daughter attends Concordia, and she believes there are many upsides: “…protection from elements, one central spot for students living in dorms, more open spots for commuters. I see it as a positive by the dorms for residential students”. However, they are also having a “parking epidemic,” as they called it, and students have discussed ideas such as paying to reserve spots on a first-come, first-serve basis. The University currently bases where students park (which lot they’re in) on how many credits they have. This is a possible solution for UWGB, but it could also create more backlash from students.
In conclusion, the overly full main parking lot issue has caused tension among students. The UWGB police officers have taken the correct measures and are making appropriate accommodations for students during the construction period. As of right now, students will need to go the extra mile and leave a little bit earlier to find ample parking and be on time for class.
