SEMO students concerned about effect of new limits on parking

As homeowners in an area near the Southeast Missouri State University campus push to implement a parking license system in their neighborhood, university students and some officials are expressing concerns about what effect new parking limitations could have.

The hours that parking is allowed on several streets in that area was limited last summer by the city after residents petitioned the city council for changes when they grew tired of students' vehicles taking up too much space. Changes to that ordinance, which could come as soon as this summer, have university representatives like student government president Patrick Vining paying attention.

During a city council study session in April, Vining asked council members to "seriously consider the impact" that changes in city parking regulations have on students. A way the city could see the effect was by looking at the increase in shuttle ridership, he said. More changes to parking on city streets would especially be harder on commuter students, according to Vining.

University president Ken Dobbins also mentioned parking to the council at the session.

"Students tell us that they are concerned that parking is not allowed during certain hours," he said. The university is, however, trying to accommodate as many students as possible so there won't be parking issues for them or residents, he said.

The ordinance put in place last summer outlawed parking on several streets during daytime hours. Now residents want to see if the city can issue permits so homeowners can park in those areas during the restricted hours. At its May 7 meeting, the council decided to seek a legal opinion from the city attorney to determine if it can legally give a permit to a resident only if they own their home.

Cars that are left in spaces along streets for long periods and limit the parking abilities of others is a main concern for students if the city decides to allow changes. It is similar to a concern residents had leading up to their action toward getting last year's ordinance passed. In some cases, students would leave their cars in one place for weeks, residents said.

Commuter student Corey Culbreath said it is already a problem at the south end of campus, where he said resident students often leave their cars in zones designated for two-hour parking overnight or leave cars parked for weeks along portions of city streets where parking is always allowed. He said trying to find parking in that area has sometimes made him late for his job at the University Center and resulted in tickets when he became frustrated and parked where he wasn't allowed. He does have a preferred commuter tag assigned by the university.

"The additional parking on the street that used to be on Normal was just easier," he said.

On a growing university campus like Southeast, transportation and parking are always major concerns. The university has seen rising enrollment numbers over the past several years, and increased demand for parking and services goes along with that.

Ridership on Southeast Missouri State University's shuttle transit system has been steadily rising in recent years, for several reasons: more resident and commuter students, use of a shuttle-tracking smartphone app, additional stops and likely because of limited parking along streets in residential areas, according to university staff.

More than 467,000 riders used the system in the past year, up from fewer than 150,000 in 2007.

Beth Glaus, the university's manager of Parking and Transit, said the university is pleased with the ridership increase and that she sees the No. 1 reason for the rise being the smartphone tracking system, which allows students to determine the number of minutes they'll wait until their ride arrives. She said it is, however, logical that limited parking along streets required by the city, especially in the vicinity of the south end of campus, near the University Center and Kent Library, has had an effect on the numbers of students riding shuttles.

Glaus and Doug Richards, the university's director of public safety, said that if city regulations on parking go further, students who do not purchase and use the university's parking tags will have to walk or ride shuttles more.

The university has plenty of perimeter space available for commuter students, Richards said, but not everyone who could buy a tag does. Some don't want to spend the $105 on tags for a full academic year, he said.

Shuttle service travels to the lots designated for perimeter parking, and students are allowed to park in lots designated for preferred tags in the afternoon through early morning.

Glaus said she is aware that residents need to use the street at all times and that the university has even helped accommodate some who can't park on the street due to limited space and the regulation. She and Richards said the university has complied with those requests whenever possible.

"The very neighbors on the street that's being affected now have been inconvenienced, so to speak, so they need to look to their neighbor, the university, to help them out with parking," she said. "They've had to ask us to help them at times by allowing them to park in adjacent parking lots. So we need to ask when we are talking about more regulations, who are we really helping?"

When the council passed the ordinance last summer, it added that the ordinance would work as a trial run.

eragan@semissourian.com

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