By Meagan Bonner
Staff Reporter
Do you ever find it difficult to park on campus here at Sacred Heart University? Do you feel like public safety’s ticketing is unnecessary when there is actually no parking available, yet on the ticket they write, “parking was available.”
You’re not alone. Many students are frustrated with the parking situation on campus.
the construction of the Bergoglio residential hall took away about 100 parking spots in North lot.
“We pay a lot of money to go to this school and you have to pay extra for the parking passes and I think that it’s not enforced correctly,” said senior Kyle Brady. “Even if you find a spot to park, maybe on the side of the driveway for the Martire where there’s plenty of room for the cars to get by, Public Safety will ticket you there. The city of Bridgeport randomly tickets on the side street. They just took away half of the parking on campus for the Bergoglio building and they haven’t really added any parking in.”
Many students park on Waller Road, which is a side street right across from the Martire Business and Commination’s building.
Since parking is sometimes hard to find in the Martire lot, students have resorted to that side street.
“I’m definitely frustrated with parking here,” said senior Casey Mitchell. “I got a $40 ticket from the city of Bridgeport a couple months ago for parking on the side street, Waller Road, and it wouldn’t have been an issue if the school wasn’t blocking off 20 plus spots at the Martire with no warning that they were doing this. This also happens in the parking lot by the Pitt Center when there are tours. Again, no warning.”
Some students believe that on certain days, because of how many activities and events are going on around campus, there tends to be more people visiting the campus.
Therefore, because of the number of guests coming to the school now, students are even less likely to find a parking spot.
“I think that Sacred Heart students are definitely frustrated with the parking situation on campus,” said senior Kelly Romano. “Personally I’ve been ticketed a couple of times and I think that it’s mostly because public safety tends to block off a lot of spots at the Martire building for whatever events the business/communications building is holding. Yet, Public Safety doesn’t tell students prior to doing so, they just block off the spots.”
A way to solve this problem at the Martire building, from students’ perspectives, would be for public safety to warn students before taking over half the parking lot without notice.
Other students had a different way of handling this parking problem.
“I think if all professors parked in the parking garage below Martire leaving the upper lot for just students then that would save a lot of space,” said junior Connor Cunningham. “Another way for this parking problem to be solved on campus is when Martire did hold events that guests parked downstairs as well. It’s always madness trying to park at Martire the day there is an event. Actually, it’s madness trying to park on campus everyday.”
Teddi Cowden, who is a senior at Sacred Heart, wrote an article in February on The Odyssey Online titled “Parking At SHU As Told By Jersey Shore.”
The online article got over 360K likes on the Odyssey’s website and 397 shares on Facebook.
“It’s really frustrating parking here on campus because half the time I have to almost make my own spot and then I get ticketed for not parking in a spot, so the school is charging me for a problem they are causing and then it
becomes even more frustrating,” said junior Timmy Johnson.
