Parking Woes Frustrate ASC and Alamosa Community

Jesse Medina
The Paw Print

The parking situation at ASC has been a hot topic for some time. Students and residents alike are becoming frustrated by increased traffic and lack of proper parking areas.
Parking at ASC has been a point of concern for some time amongst students. The parking issue has even preceded the construction project which is now taking place. The addition of more parking areas is part of the new construction project. The lack of available parking for students causes them to have to park in the surrounding neighborhoods. This is causing problems for public residents with congested streets and illegal parking.
When asked if the parking situation had raised any complaints from students and the community Dr. Joel Shults replied, “The parking situation has generated a number of complaints from both the community and the campus. We understand the challenges and inconvenience of our current transitional time and listen to each concern. The President has held community meetings and I, along with the Vice President Marquez, the city engineer, city police chief, and code enforcement officer have personally surveyed and continue to monitor the situation on the streets around campus. I can promise that there are many people very active in working through the parking situation so we can get to a point where our goals of safety and convenience are met.”
ASC did recently attempt to alleviate the parking problem by building a parking area adjacent to the library. With increased student enrollment more parking spaces will be needed. In response to this, two additional parking areas are going to be created, one off of Richardson Ave. and one on the northern part of campus. Due to scheduling conflicts with the construction project, these parking areas will not be completed until spring 2011. According to Dr. Shults parking is currently congested due to room being needed for the construction crews and their equipment. Dr. Shults says that the completion of the construction project will allow for more parking and a better parking situation.
The closing of Stadium Drive eliminated a large amount of parking areas around the Student Union Building. A study was done by Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers to evaluate the potential impact of closing a section of Stadium Dr. and redirecting traffic around the area. According to Martin/Martin the impact of the ASC Campus Auxiliary Housing New Building Project is minimal. Students, however, feel that First Street is considerably more congested and parking less than acceptable
The college is not ignoring the parking situation. Dr. Shults feels that the parking is going to improve with the completion of the building project. “Parking accommodations were part of the design of the new construction. There are building codes that provide guidelines for parking based on the capacity of any new building so that was part of the planning process.”
Robert James, a returning ASC student, feels that the lack of parking is inconvenient but “it’s not terrible. I went to Colorado State University for several years and parking there is an actual nightmare. So all and all, this is not too terrible.”
For the moment parking, or the lack there of, will remain an issue for students and the community.

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