The Wood Word published an article about the parking situation at Marywood in the October issue of the paper. Feedback to the article revealed that the issue was not covered as thoroughly as readers would wish.
One comment was that the issue of events taking up parking spaces was not addressed. Mike Finegan, Chief of security, noted that “it is a reality of campus life that we do have events so that we can be accessible to the community.” Finegan says that security tells people to park in outer lots but people do not always listen. There is not enough staff for security to direct traffic for each event and security is unable to cite visitors because they are not in the system.
The good thing is that these events are not an everyday occurrence. Finegan advises commuter students to be as aware as possible about campus events so they can plan their time accordingly. “[The parking situation] frustrating because I hear from students and some of them are rather bitter. We do make every attempt to have our campus guests park in the outer lots but cooperation is not as good as we would hope” said Finegan.
Resident students are also sometimes found in commuter lots such as over the weekend. Resident vehicles are cited if they park in commuter lots. Appeals are not entertained because residents are simply not allowed to park in commuter lots, even over the weekend.
Security is also attempting to develop a policy to verify handicapped parking. Students and faculty must go through the state for a parking pass.
Security is in the process of coming up with a protocol for developing a database of handicapped parking users. There might be new changes soon. One thought is having a sticker that identifies a handicapped parking pass that would be affixed on or near the regular commuter or student parking pass. The handicapped parking is certainly an issue but Finegan assures students that security is working on it. For now, all they can do is be patient and understanding.
