Dwindling Spaces, Growing Debate Faculty, Environmentalists Seek to Put Brakes on Parking Expansion

Author: Chesley Thurber

NEWS ANALYSIS

With three major proposals currently awaiting approval from various state and local authorities, the College's parking system is waiting at a critical juncture. This week's environmental activities have caused many to look more closely at parking policy and automobile use at Middlebury.

The burst of new construction on campus will take several lots out of commission beginning this fall. The need for a solution is thus urgent, but the community is divided on what course of action to follow.

Discussions by many community groups on campus culminated this fall when the College administration and President John McCardell endorsed eight principles to govern parking policy that emphasize a desire to create a pedestrian campus in a way that is both practical and fair.

But rather than create consensus, these principles have sparked even more debate. The Student Government Association (SGA) Senate adopted a resolution last October declaring its opposition to the principles. Faculty has voiced criticism, as well. A petition written by Gamaliel Painter Bicentennial Professor Frank Winkler stating concerns with the College's policy has gathered 79 signatures to date.

The principles outline the model for a pedestrian campus in which the core of campus is completely free of automobiles and all parking and traffic is relegated to the periphery. According to the principles, parking facilities should enable faculty and staff to access parking within a five to seven minute walk of their offices and should be able to accommodate all students who wish to have a car on campus, provided that "sufficient parking spaces exist."

It is this last element that is under most intense scrutiny as the loss of the Coffrin and Old Science Center lots will require the construction of new spaces in order to accommodate all students.



The Current Proposals



When the Coffrin and Old Science Center lots are taken offline this fall, the College will lose 168 student parking spaces. With the total number of on-campus student spaces (993) already lower than the total number of registered student vehicles (over 1,000), a further reduction in student spaces would be unsustainable under the current policy.

Town of Middlebury residents have already complained that the College's inability to accommodate all student cars has caused a spillover of illegal parking within the town.

To compensate for these losses, the College plans to expand student parking at Freeman International Center and Wright Theater, creating an additional 83 spaces. A new lot will also be built along Ridgeline Road, adding 90 spaces.

These plans, however, must first be approved by the State of Vermont under Act 250. If approved, these proposals will allow for a net increase of five student spaces.

Originally, another student lot designed for first-year students had been proposed along South Street near Porter Hospital. The proposal was presented to the Middlebury Town Planning Commission where it faced criticism. Local residents deemed it unnecessary and maintained it would negatively affect the community by destroying local landscape and increasing neighborhood traffic.

Although the Commission has not formally voted on the proposal, the lot is no longer in the College's immediate plans as "the Planning Commission is not going to approve it," admitted Project Manager Mark Gleason.

Faculty and staff parking will also undergo some changes beginning next fall as a result of both the new construction and the mandate to provide faculty and staff with parking within a reasonable walking distance from their offices.

While the construction of the new library will take away 49 spaces at the Old Science Center lot, parking will be expanded at locations along College Street, near the Service Building and at Wright Theater. These expansions are also pending Act 250 approval.

One final proposal to expand the Center for the Arts (CFA) lot is still awaiting decision from the Town Planning Commission as well. The proposal, which has encountered much resistance from local residents, would build an additional ring of 99 spaces designated as event parking. Gleason expressed confidence that this proposal will be approved and that construction could begin this summer.



Environmental Issues at Stake



Environmental concerns have been the focal point of most opposition to the College's parking policy. The model of the pedestrian campus as established by the eight principles is intended to be environmentally friendly, although many argue that this alone is still not enough.

Environmental protest to College policy focuses around two key issues — the transformation of natural areas to asphalt lots and the harmful effects of automobile use itself.

Middlebury College has long prided itself on its environmental responsibility. Winkler commented that parking policy, however, "sticks out as an anomaly" from this commitment.

The idea behind the pedestrian campus is to confine automotive traffic to the periphery through the creation of more remote lots and an infrastructure that allows for easy traffic flow around, rather than through, the heart of campus. The plan is intended to be environmentally friendly by creating an automotive-free zone and discouraging student use of automobiles by making access inconvenient.

This policy has been attacked by town residents who find it presumptuous of the College to push parking closer to their homes while creating a pedestrian environment for itself.

The SGA Senate has also addressed the issue with a resolution stating that it will "actively oppose any and all College policies that have the indirect or direct effect of reducing student access to parking."

Alternatively, the SGA proposed that the College "increase the availability and use of public transportation within the Town of Middlebury and central Vermont." Winkler's faculty petition features similar language emphasizing the need for the College to investigate both public transportation options and alternative, environmentally friendly transportation means.

The push for the College to provide greater alternative transportation options has grown heavily over the past year and has gathered widespread campus support. Such alternative options, however, are not a part of the College's endorsed parking principles.



First-Year Parking in Jeopardy?



The eight principles state that the College will attempt to accommodate all students who wish to bring cars to campus under the condition that spaces are available. However, the College is now facing a situation where it must build additional parking if it hopes to continue to provide parking to all students.

Because of this necessity to construct additional parking, many consider it the appropriate time to ban first year parking as it would not be a violation of the College's parking principles.

This is one of the changes called for in the faculty petition. It asks the College to "restrict the privilege of maintaining vehicles on campus to students beyond the first year except in special circumstances."

Winkler noted that first-years at most of Middlebury's peer institutions such as Bowdoin, Williams and Amherst are not permitted to bring automobiles to campus. Instituting such a policy at Middlebury would only be bringing it more in-line with what has become standard policy at comparable liberal arts colleges.

While environmental concerns are the primary reasons Winkler would like to see such a policy implemented, he notes that a ban on first year parking would be beneficial to student life as well. "To some people, life without a car might be inconceivable," commented Winkler. By requiring students to live without a car during t
heir first year on campus, they would be forced to participate more in on-campus activities and to find alternative means of transportation.

The SGA Senate has strongly opposed any such ban. According to last October's resolution, "The SGA, on behalf of the entire student body, supports parking access for all students, regardless of graduation year, vehicle type or housing location."

Since many students of the class of 2006 have already accepted admission based on the promise of being allowed to bring a car to campus, a ban on first-year parking could be implemented until at least the fall of 2003. Meanwhile, successful approval and completion of the currently proposed lots would allow Middlebury to continue to accommodate first-year cars at least in the near future.

But as the campus continues to expand with the development of the commons system, it is likely that parking needs will force the College to consider more seriously either parking restrictions or alternative transportation instead of further parking construction.