In the summer of 2008, Fairfield University plans to unveil a completed housing project along with new parking accommodations near both the Walsh Athletic Center and the newly renovated St. Ignatius Hall.
While some students are displeased with the University’s plan for renovation, the prospect of having more parking spots and parking options is appealing.
“I think having more spots on campus would be great,” said Lesley Martin ’10. “Hopefully more students would be allowed to have cars on campus.”
Others think that the current parking options on campus are adequate enough.
“I always manage to find parking,” said Molly Considine ’08. “I have found that it is not that big of a problem. The campus is small enough that wherever I find parking, it isn’t a far walk.”
The administration plans to add walkways and stairways connecting the Walsh Athletic Center to the townhouse complex, making the lot more accessible to students. In addition, St. Ignatius Loyola Hall, which will be converted into junior and senior apartments, already has a parking lot, which will be made more accessible by the creation of a new access driveway that will connect to the existing campus road. The lot may be expanded.
For years, rumors have spread about the construction of a parking deck or garage on campus, and according to Mark Reed, Vice President for Student Affairs, “It certainly is possible that Fairfield will look to add a parking deck structure somewhere on campus in the future.”
The addition of new parking spots just might give public safety a break as well. According to Fairfield University Parking Operations Assistant, Mary Ann DeMasi, public safety writes approximately 75 tickets a day, Monday through Friday; that’s approximately 1,500 tickets per month.
While Public Safety often deals with freshmen bringing their unauthorized cars on campus, DeMasi says that the biggest offenders are upperclassmen who drive to class and park in unauthorized areas.
Samantha Mullaney ’09 agrees that this is an issue.
“I think that there isn’t so much a problem with the amount of parking available on campus, it’s more where the parking is for certain locations,” she said.
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