By Tucker Reilly, News Editor
At the start of the 2020-2021 school year, St. Bonaventure University officially opened a new parking lot between the Administration Building and Doyle Hall. The lot — listed as “Lot L” or “Events Lot” on campus maps — adds 94 new overnight parking spaces and is the most recent motion in the university’s ongoing effort to provide parking for students, faculty and staff.
While many students have been pleased with the university’s new addition, some have also voiced concern about the lot being perpetually full.
“I like the new lot, because we need the parking spaces,” said Liam Quinn, a freshman sports media major. “Personally, I’ve never been able to get a spot there, though.”
Gary Segrue, director of Safety and Security on campus, said the new parking lot has given more options for students living on campus.
“As anticipated, these additional spaces have alleviated pressure on the overnight parking area west of Shay and Loughlen Halls and are more convenient for our students living in Robinson, Falconio, Doyle and Devereux Halls,” he said.
Konnor Richardson, a sophomore marketing major who lives in Doyle Hall, agreed that the lot has become popular in contrast to the parking available near Shay and Loughlen Halls, but he also described the difficulty of parking near his own dorm.
“If there’s no spots available in the lot, you have to choose between Gardens and Shay, which becomes tedious when you’re going to the store or something on a daily basis,” he said.
Additionally, in the two weeks since the events lot opened, the university has already had to address a problem: students parking on the grass surrounding the lot.
On Aug. 25, an email announcement was sent to all students warning that parking outside of designated spots would result in cars being ticketed. Segrue said the announcement has been successful, describing the grass parking issue as “rectified.”
“We are in the process of obtaining signage to deter students from parking in front of the Administration building,” Segrue added.
Michael Seitz, a sophomore sports media major, suggested that the grass parking issue represents wasted potential in the construction of the lot.
“They could have made it bigger,” said Michael Seitz, a sophomore sports journalism major. “Of course I’m glad they added the extra spots, but there’s room to expand around there.”
For the time being, the new lot appears to serve the purpose intended by the university. According to Segrue, one of the most important factors in the success of the parking lots is students being responsible.
“Overall the students have been compliant, and the new lots at Doyle and Francis have been helpful,” Segrue said. “I appreciate the support from Facilities Director Jared Smith and CFO Dan Hungerford in providing these student spaces.”
reillyt19@bonaventure.edu
