The increased demand for space in the Nebraska Lot due to some closed campus parking lots has increased frustration among commuter students, according to Tony Newman, director of Transportation Services and Risk Management. However, he said the completion of the Katzen Arts Center in May 2005 will relieve current pressures.
"What was the Kay lot is now a construction site, and what was the Cassell lot is going to be the Katzen Arts Center," Newman said. "As these [parking] spots have become offline, people have been forced into the Nebraska Lot. But this might become a moot point when Katzen is finished."
The Katzen parking lot will add 500 additional spaces and will probably be utilized by purchase of a permit similar to those required in the Centennial and faculty-staff parking garages, according to Newman. The lot is planned to be open to anyone in the AU community who purchases a permit, but the construction also allows for the lot to be gated, according to intern architect Onyel Gibson.
The parking lot adjacent to Bender Arena and the School of International Service building will not close for another two to three years, according to Jerry Gager, director of Facilities Planning and Development.
"Since the parking lot closures are not imminent, the Katzen Arts Center parking will relieve parking issues for the time being," Gager said.
He added that although he and his staff are always working to alleviate problems and address concerns, peak times when parking becomes more problematic are not unusual under any circumstances.
Nicholas Calkins, Public Safety transportation enforcement coordinator, agreed, and cited every Wednesday - when commuters and graduate students come to campus for block classes - as a predictable Nebraska Lot logjam.
"Imagine everyone on campus at once, at the same time," Calkins said. "The other 22 or 23 hours of the day, it's not a problem. We do send people over to monitor the lot several times a day ... sometimes I go myself, but never once have I been in the lot and not seen an empty spot."
Newman said that Public Safety plans to launch a new help-desk database called C-Support to categorize comments and complaints and provide quick and consistent answers to members of the university community. Once up and running, Newman said C-Support would help his department assess just how large a percentage of AU students have campus parking concerns.
Despite the 902 available parking spaces in the Nebraska Lot, frustration about overcrowding has risen as more distance commuters, event attendees and off-campus students pack into the lot each day.
For many students, such as Jeremy Schneider, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, the aforementioned scenario has become an all-too-frequent reality.
"You can't get a spot between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.," Schneider said. "It's not possible ... it's completely jam-packed."
Erika Lynch, a junior in the School of International Service, said she finds parking to be a challenge, particularly in the afternoons.
"It's always hard to find a space when I come to my later class, around 5:30, 6-ish," Lynch said. "And on Preview Day, it was almost impossible to park, because I was fighting with visitors who were using the lot for event parking."
However, not all students have complaints about the Nebraska Lot.
Ken Linskey, a junior in SIS, said he's never had a problem finding a space, and thinks those who complain, "need to stop whining about having to park their cars a couple rows further back than they'd like to."
Other students seemed surprised that campus parking was an issue.
"I've been here five years, and never once have I had a problem, nor have I ever heard a complaint," said Dave Trachtenberg, a senior in CAS.
In response to remaining complaints, Newman said he believes that improvements are around the corner.
"All we need to do is wait it out," Newman said. "We feel that if there's an issue, we'll know about it, and in a few months, we're confident any issue will solve itself."
Students interested in obtaining more information about on-campus parking can contact a member of Transportation Service's Customer Relations staff at x3111, or pick up a Parking & Traffic Regulations pamphlet at the Transportation Services desk in the Public Safety building.
