Parking Still A Problem at SMCC
Jason Kenosky
Issue date: 2/1/10 Section: News
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by Jason Kenosky
Despite SMCCs thirteen campus parking lots, students are having trouble finding parking.
"Parking is definitely a problem," said Mike Wallace, a first year student at SMCC. "It's an issue that needs to be addressed."
Wallace says that finding parking is possible, but usually involves driving around for a while until a space opens up, or taking your chances in an impromptu spot.
"I was here at 8 am today and was able to find a spot in front of Hague," continues Wallace. "At ten o'clock, it would have been a whole different story."
With student enrollment up, parking has become the most talked about issue facing SMCC students. Enrollment is currently at 6,000 students; twice the amount of students enrolled in 2004.
"We keep growing," said Head of Security Jay Manhardt. "We grew by 10% over last year and we didn't add 10% more spots."
Manhardt maintains that even though SMCC has been growing substantially each semester, the college is now at a point where action needs to be taken. With a record number of students attending SMCC, President Ortiz has organized a task force with the mission of going out and finding a range of options.
What is being explored ranges from the doable to the outlandish to the not-going-to-happen, and everything in between.
"We have reviewed a lot of options," continues Manhardt. "I am not comfortable with putting some of them out there because all they are going to do is raise some eyebrows. Students are used to parking a certain way on campus, but let's face it, something needs to be done."
What would seem the most obvious solution to students would be the creation of more spaces. The problem is that SMCC is not able to acquire more land. The college is only able to work with what is currently available.
"That would be around $2000 a space," says Manhardt.
While some property on campus has been viewed as possible areas for new spaces, making that happen is not an easy task.
"You don't just find a spot and pave it over. You need to have architects and excavators come in. You need to factor in things like runoff. Do we have adequate drains and where would the drainage go?"
Because of SMCCs proximity to Casco Bay, the Department of Environmental Protection would need to come in and evaluate the situation. Vehicles leak oil, gasoline, and other fluids that all end up somewhere else.
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