The Journal

Issue date: 11/10/05 Section: News

Media Credit: Mario Ulibarri Construction crews have cordoned off the south end of Lot K, where the new Community Music School building will be built.

Construction on Webster's campus is something that people have come to expect. Unfortunately, for many, so is a lack of convenient parking. And for anyone who has walked or driven past the former south end of Lot K, they know that these two problems are often related.

Construction began on Webster's new Community Music School behind the Loretto-Hilton Center recently and in the process, Webster lost around 50 parking spaces in Lot K. This has left many students and faculty upset at the shrinking number of spaces.

David Stone, director of facilities planning for Webster, said the problem is short-term and should be fixed by next semester.

"About 50 spaces have been lost, and there are about 2,000 spaces on campus. So it's not that big of a number," Stone said.

New parking will be available at the far east of campus, next to the Garden Park Plaza parking garage.

"Those small houses at the end of Garden Avenue will be torn down," Stone said. "There will be a parking lot there."

Stone said the lot should be open by the spring semester.

"That lot will have around 90 to 100 spots," Stone said. "Once the music school is complete, there will be around 15 spots there, too."

Stone said once everything is complete, there should be a net gain of around 80 parking spots campuswide.

Peter Hoffman graduated from Webster last year and was on campus for the first time since the spring when he saw the construction.

"At first I thought they were adding more parking and tearing down that garden by the H. Sam Priest Center and I thought that was a good idea," Hoffman said. "But they're taking away parking and moving it farther from school, that's pretty stupid."

"How often do you see someone sitting outside in those benches (near the H. Sam Priest Center) anyway?" Hoffman said.

Warren Rosenblum, a professor in the history, politics and international relations department, said in an e-mail discussion with other faculty and staff that "we shouldn't allow ourselves to be driven by consumer tastes" on such issues.

"Students in my classes have frequently complained about the distance they have to walk from the parking garage (or even from the far reaches of the surface lot) in order to get to the Priest Center classes," Rosenblum said in an e-mail interview.

"Student parking needs were also the administration's justification for tearing down a historic building and destroying the architectural fabric of the Old Post Office District downtown. Students going to the downtown campus could easily park in one of the many garages within two blocks of the new campus, but the administration claims that students would never agree to come to campus unless there was ample parking right next door."

On the campus listserv, Rosenblum lamented that the university and its students shouldn't be so focused on convenience over a livable, vibrant campus.

"Webster could and should have a truly great campus: a place that makes students want to hand around instead of sitting in their cars, doing their homework and waiting for classes to start," Rosenblum said. "How many campuses in this country are known and loved for their convenient parking? Why can't we think big?"

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