BY Michael Corcoran
Staff Writer
. . Or rather, it will be, come next summer.
Sacred Heart students have been struggling with parking on-campus for years, but in 2020, this may no longer be a problem. The university plans to break ground this December for a brand new parking garage where the current South Lot is located. This new parking garage will be able to house over 427 cars, which is almost triple the amount that the South Lot currently holds.
William Reidy, Head of University Advancement, gave some insight into the project.
“It will be done relatively quickly, because these types of facilities are built off-site and the parts will be brought to campus to be put together almost like Lego,” said Reidy. “It’ll be easy also because there will only be the need for plumbing for fire suppression systems and general electricity.”
From start to finish, the time to build the garage will take approximately six months – six months without those 153 existing parking spots, six months of additional construction on campus, and six months of renewed struggle to find parking.
While the construction is going on, students will be allowed to park at the Trumbull mall and are encouraged to utilize the garages at West Campus. However, it is almost guaranteed that there will be problems when the time comes, due to the fact that the Jack Welch College of Business has officially moved to West Campus (the former General Electric headquarters).
According to sacredheart.edu, even with the additional 800 spots at West Campus, parking is still an issue. For junior Nick Pelletier, finding a parking spot is an issue he faces daily.
“It’s extremely difficult at any time of the day,” said Pelletier. “I have to plan to get there very early to spend at least ten minutes looking for a spot, and it has made me late multiple times. Sometimes I come from a different building and only have fifteen minutes to find a spot and to get to class, which is even more difficult.”
Junior Teddy Yerardi agrees with Pelletier on this issue. “Some days, all the lots are full at West Campus,” said Yerardi. “It sometimes takes up to fifteen minutes to find a spot for class, and I cannot afford to be late to class.”
Students also have to deal with the cost of annual parking permits, which some find excessively expensive.
Every year, students who bring their car on campus are required to pay for a permit. The commuter permit is least expensive at $30, but prices can reach as high as $250 for a permanent spot off-campus (depending on where the student is living).
Senior Lauren Porres thinks otherwise. “I can only imagine how expensive it is going to be to park there,” she said, “especially because at the Center for Healthcare Education, it costs $400 to park.”
Reidy believes that it will not drastically affect students’ finances, because the school is already aware of the financial burden of attending Sacred Heart.
“We are hyper-conscious of the costs coming to Sacred Heart and we’re hyper-conscious of the families of students who need to meet those costs,” said Reidy.
