FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 1968
You Can Drive, But Don't ry To Park
Spring Term is the time to have a car
on campus. Who can resist cruising on
College Avenue, gaping at coeds, turning
up the radio, and heading out to Whipple's
for some sun and water?
It's great to have a car in Happy Valley
—until you tly to park it.
Yes, that lack of parking space is still
plaguing University Park. According to
student leaders and University officials,
the problem will be worse this term than
ever before.
Convenient parking space has become
so scarce that Garry Wamser, head of the
Undergraduate Student Government's
parking committee, has said that a'parking
sticker gives a student only "the right to
hunt for a parking space."
The problem exists also for faculty and
staff members. Although the Administra
tion gives staff drivers preference over
students, more space is needed. Anthony A.
Derzak, of the personnel relations office,
said that at least "1,000 spaces are needed
immediately."
USG Committee Working
Wamser's committee is now consider
ing three areas: parking for students living
in West Halls, parking for women and an
over-all need for more space.
West Ball drivers have complained
that the nearest lot in which they can
leave cars overnight presents them with a
20-minute
,walk. Multiply this by a two
way trip, Wamser said, and "It's hardly
worth it."
USG's committee is investigating sev
eral solutions for the West parking prob
lem. One, applicable only in the winter, in-
PARKING IN UNIVERSITY PARK A
special report researched and prep - ared for
The Daily Collegian by Glen Kranzley; writ
ten by William Epstein, Collegian city editor.
volves using the 16 tennis courts in front
of Chambers as parking lots. Wamser said
that the plan is a possibility for next Winter
Term.
Another suggestion calls for the con
version of several holes of the golf course's
front section into parking lots. This *idea
has been discounted, Wamser explained,
because new golf holes to replace the con
verted ones will not be constructed within
the next 10 years.
West Halls Council has proposed that
the mall in front of West, bounded by Pol
lock and Fraser Roads and Phi Gamma
Delta fraternity house, be converted from
its present grass into a parking lot.
Officials in Old Main, however;. have
said that the, mall has too much aesthetic
value to be destroyed. They have also in
dicated that the area is too close to the cen
tral campus to be used for parking.
Wamser said that he is plannin g to
submit the mall plan to a vote by Vest
Halls residents. He said that he will report
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ASOP I M
„
by Town Independent Men's Council
Sponsored
Parking Space Decreasing—
Could Get'Worse Than Ever
his findings to the Administration.
Derzak, who is in charge of faculty and
staff parking, has suggested that the physi
cal education department turn over one
of its intramural football fields for parking
use. The fields are located across Atherton
Street, near the golf course:
Danger for Coeds?
In addition to the West Halls situation,
USG is studying the problem of those
coeds who are forced to park comparative
ly long distances from their residence halls.
Last term, complaints of everything
from vandalism to exhibitionism were
heard from coeds assigned to park in Lot 83
North, near East Halls: This lot, which is
not within a short walking distance of sev
eral coed living areas, is isolated, and until
recently was unlighted.
A possible solution calls for the setting
aside of Lot 52 for exclusive use by women.
This lot is south of the Computer Science
Building, and is closer to three main coed
areas—Pollock, South, and Simmons-Mc-
Elwain.
• Wamser said that to regulate parking
in Lot 52, special stickers might be issued
only to coeds.
The lot, however, is due to be partially
e.« . '"2116 1 4-• t
PART OF THE WEST HALLS lawn that has been proposed for conversion into a
parking lot. The Administration is said to oppose the plan because of "aesthetic"
values, and because the area is too near the central campus to be used for parking.
;: -.r,s
. .
DARKER SIDE
,
• •
Follow me to the
GISTRATION
explode with
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the motown sound
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN, UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA
lost to an expansion of the. Computer Sci
ence Building and construction of an audi
torium on Shortlidge Road, Wamser said
that the Administration has, promised to
set aside other areas for parking, to re
place the lost space.
Concerning the over-all need for more
space, this is a problem that apparently is
growing worse. According to Capt. Philip
A. Mark, traffic violations officer, approxi
mately 6,000 students now have cars here.
Only 2,236 spaces are available on campus
for overnight parking, Mark said.
Parking Space Decreasing
Derzak reported that about 600 spaces
will lcie lost to construction by this summer.
University plans call for the building of
500 new spaces during the next two years,
he said, adding that the loss of space will
be felt almost entirely by the faculty and
staff.
Derzak said that employes working in
Pattee Library and the north part of cam
pus have the most trouble parking. He said
that there are 350 spaces available to ac
commodate 1,200 people.,
Unauthorized parking by faculty mem
bers also presents a problem, Derzak said.
He cited those faculty members who are
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RAG
JAMMY
and see
the
assigned to park in a single lot, but use
other lots in their daily travels.
The drivers whose spaces have been
illegally taken are forced to use lots not
assigned to them, and in some cages they
are inconvenienced by longer walks to
offices.
Derzak voiced dissatisfaction over the
number of disability permits issued by the
Ritenour Health Center. These permits
allow phySically disabled or handicapped
students to use centrally-located parking
areas, such as the Hetzel Union Building
lot.
Derzak said that "a good 200" faculty
and staff spaces have been displaced in this
way.
In solving the parking problem, the
primary concern seems to be the cost of
new lots.
The least expensive parking facility is
an unpaved, gravel-topped lot. Derzak said
that this type of lot costs $lOO per car space.
A-macadam paved lot costs about $250
per space, while another possibility, a high
rise parking garage, would cost between
$2,500 and $3,000 per space.
SOUL SURVIVORS
University Union Board and AWS Women's Week
The Soul Survivors and
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Tickets Available Today and Tomorrow
in the HUB, ground floor, and also at the door-
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CARS, CARS, AND MORE CARS—But parking space on campus appears to be getting
more scarce. USG officials and members of the Administration indicate that the parking
situation for Spring Term "could be worse than ever."
Multi-level Parking?
Wamser said that USG favors the con
struction of a multi-level parking garage,
despite the possibility that a large number
of cars in a relatively small area would
cause traffic problems. He said that the Ad
ministration opposes such a high-rise
project because of the cost involved.
A multi-level garage has been suggest-
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in Rec Hall, Saturday Night,
March 30, at 8:30 P.M.
Continuous Jammy featuring
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1!EMI!I
THE
IN A
present
$l.OO
ed, Wamser explained, because there is
little open space on campus to be devel
oped. Most open areas have either been
claimed for construction or will be pre
served for their aesthetic value.
A suggestion by Derzak calls for the
purchase of three blocks of land across
from North Halls, on Park Avenue. The
University would have to also buy 21
homes now on this land.
Derzak said that once the homes are
bought and the land is cleared, a lot for
800 to 1,000 cars could be built. Consider
ing what he termed a good price for the
houses, the total cost per car space would
be between $1,500 and $2,000.
The plan has not been discussed with
borough authorities or' property owners,
and their ,cooperation, of - course, would be
necessary.
Derzak' mentioned that a high-rise
parking project might necessitate charging
a fee for employe parking.
Losing More Space
But for the immediate future, the
schedule shows more space being lost to
construction. Lots tabbed as victims will
be the one now found north of the women's
recreation fields, along with a lot between
Borland Laboratory and the Forum Build
ing, on Curtin Road.
Wamser said that the Administration
might limit student parking to only upper
classmen, eliminating sophomores. Even
this idea, however, will not provide relief
for the tight parking situation that is fore
seen in the Spring Term.
PAGE NINE