New changes to campus parking

Katie Buchanan

This fall, Lawrence has made several changes in the way students can apply for the parking lottery and park their cars on and off campus.
The biggest change students will face is the removal of the John Street parking lot. With the start of construction for the campus center, the John Street parking lot is now a fire truck access point for the construction site; on the completion of the Campus Center, it will be torn up and turned into a pedestrian walkway.
“I think that we have such a big problem with parking on campus already,” said senior Maria Giere, “that the removal of the John Street lot is just going to make things even more frustrating.”
Another change is the way students can sign up for the parking lottery.
According to Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Nancy Truesdell, “the parking policy hasn’t changed; we’ve just moved the parking lottery procedure online. Students still have to register their cars with Physical Plant in person, but everything else can now be done on Voyager.”
Students can now enter into the lottery, accept or decline a lottery space, and pay for their parking permit through Voyager.
“This makes the lottery process more efficient,” said Truesdell. “We don’t have to worry about memos and paperwork, it’s all instantaneous.”
The third change is the purchase of several parking ramp passes near Lawrence so that students can park off campus for free.
Truesdell said, “You just have to register your car with Physical Plant, and they’ll give you a parking ramp pass for one free entrance per day.”
Senior David Plank is pleased with the new parking ramp passes. “They’re nice,” said Plank, “because you can park there for free. The ramps are really nice and I think it’s good that Lawrence provides parking for students who don’t win the parking lottery on campus.”
“The ramp passes are nice,” said Giere, “but the ramps themselves are inconveniently located. I think if we’re going to have a parking lottery for spaces on campus, those who win spaces should be assigned spaces close to their building to ensure that only they park there.”
With the addition of more Lawrence students’ cars to Appleton’s parking ramps, Lawrence security and the Appleton Police Department will be patrolling the ramps to ensure students’ safety. Security will also provide escorts for students from the parking ramps to campus if desired.
For more information about the parking lottery, visit http://lawrence.edu/dept/physical_plant/parking.