Fixing Parking Problems & Honoring Our Student Veterans
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Authors
Rector, Ryan
Date of Issue
2023-04-28
Type
Presentation
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Abstract
At Carroll, parking for students is a challenge. Rarely are there any open “Permitted Student” parking spaces in semi-convenient locations around campus during campus peak hours. Meanwhile, data showed that there were, on average, 39 unused “Staff/Faculty” parking spaces around campus during peak hours (10am & 2pm). The proposal was a research supported proposal that was intended to fix a problem in a meaningful way with 10 of the 39 available, unused, non-assigned “Staff/Faculty” parking spaces around campus. We proposed that 10 of those 39 spaces be assigned and made available to all currently enrolled “Student Veterans.” For good measure, it is also suggested that Carroll College consider investing in some Student Veteran/Veteran Spaces in the HAC/PE Center parking lot. The proposal has received unanimous approval from every major governing body on the Carroll campus. The research conducted was not your typical college research project. It was not for any class. The study ended up being a collaborative effort between the Student Veterans Organization, Veteran Services, Campus Safety and Security, Securitas, and Facilities. Securitas conducted the 5 week data collection process. Every non-assigned Staff/Faculty parking space was counted, and recorded, per location. All assigned/designated parking spaces were omitted from the count and data collection process. Peak hours were identified prior to the beginning of the semester. It was assumed that the peak hours would result in the most impacted parking times for the campus. Thus, the parking spaces were counted twice each working day M-F, at the hours of 10am and 2pm. For each week, per lot, an average was measured per time 10 & 2. Then each lot was averaged for each time per each lot. Then every lot was averaged for each time. Then each time was averaged together to get the 39 avg. unused parking spaces at any given time of day. This average was then reduced by 10 spaces for new staff/faculty employees. Currently we have 24 student veterans enrolled at Carroll. The amount of parking spaces that were proposed was 10-12 spaces that would be assigned to only Student Veterans. These spaces were to be spread out over the staff and faculty parking lots that had the most availability around campus. Thus leaving a safe buffer of 29 unused staff and faculty parking spaces around the campus. The 10 new signed spaces for student veterans is ultimately beneficial for the entire Carroll Community. Student Veterans get more preferential parking around campus, parking around the campus will be utilized more efficiently, and traditional students will theoretically gain 10 parking spaces. Having semi-permanent “Student Veteran Parking Spaces” spread around campus is a great recruitment tool for Carroll to employ when looking to get more student veterans enrolled at Carroll.