Recently, many Colgate University students used to parking on campus have been faced with the unwanted presence of a bright white parking citation on their windshields.
Following the completion of Bernstein Hall, parking on Lally Lane — a popular destination for many students living off-campus — became faculty and staff-only parking between 7 a.m.and 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. While Joe Hernon, associate vice president of emergency management, campus safety and environmental health, sent out an email detailing the parking changes on Thursday, Oct. 28, many students had already received parking violations before this announcement.
Senior Klara Sweeney is one student who got caught in the Campus Safety in-between.
“I was confused where I could actually park since there wasn’t much signage, so I called Campus Safety early this year, who told me to park in the spots right in front of [113 Broad Street],” Sweeney said. “Even though I did this, I still got a ticket. But, after Campus Safety realized it was unclear, they reversed the charge.”
Hernon accepted some of the blame on behalf of Campus Safety for the miscommunication.
“The communication should have gone out faster, so we recognize that was definitely an ‘oopsie,’ for lack of a better term,” Hernon later shared. “Although there are signs, they are quite spread out, so we wanted to be fair and reasonable with that, because it’s not easy.”
While Campus Safety has run into more parking issues, there are about the same amount of student vehicles registered as previous years.
“[We’re] recognizing, too, we have a number of off-campus students that are traversing from their apartment — whether it’s in town or out of town — coming to campus and looking to park so they can take classes,” Hernon said.
Senior Ally Wilchusky expressed frustration with the lack of options for off-campus students.
“It’s disheartening,” Wilchusky said. “There’s no long-term solution for the people that live off campus, and it’s soon going to be too cold to walk.”
Hernon also discussed the frequent flow of carpools from down the hill that stop in the parking lot behind McGregory Hall and Lawrence Hall, which many students refer to as “the gap.” Hernon, whose office is on the first floor of McGregory, shared his concerns with this practice.
“We’re trying to figure out how can we minimize that, because then we also run into competing interests — faculty and staff come back from lunch and now they can’t get to meetings because they’re stuck in this, for lack of a better word, clown carnival,” Hernon said. “And so then there’s beeping, and I hear it all. I stick my head out of the window and watch it.”
While concerns about parking and traffic can make it seem like there is a high demand for vehicles on campus, Hernon shared that his team is trying to balance driving needs with preserving Colgate’s walkability and natural beauty. Hernon hopes recent updates to the Colgate shuttle service will alleviate some of these concerns.
“When the new buses get here — again, all future planning — you will be able to see [available vehicle capacity].” Hernon said. “We’re working with the team, now that they’re in-house and less stuck to contractual routes, [to] work together. Like, if they went to a stop and had two or three students left there, [they could] phone another bus and can swing down and grab them.”
Other upcoming changes to the transit program include improved GPS tracking after the previous software elicited negative feedback. Although supply chain issues delayed delivery, the new shuttles are now expected on campus in January 2025.
With all the recent changes to transportation on campus, Hernon emphasized that he is open to feedback.
“I think the biggest thing I would ask for students is [to] let us know. Don’t suffer in silence,” Hernon said. “Don’t say it’s broken and then continue to say it’s broken without letting us know how we can fix it.”
As students are the ones using programs like the shuttle most often, Hernon and his teams want to hear about which parts are effective and which are not. Students who have feedback can contact Hernon and his team via email at [email protected].
