By Matthew Kissel
The current semester at Purchase has been one filled with tense frustration for students and faculty alike who have had to deal with with bumpy roads and limited parking. Many students and faculty have been finding it difficult to both navigate around the campus roads and find parking that has been limited due to the ongoing construction that has been taking place throughout the campus.
“It has been challenging and parking has always been an issue here,” said John Carney, a history professor.
The West 2 parking lot has been the main parking lot used for students this semester as the West 1 parking lot has been under construction for the entire semester so far. This has caused many complaints from students who say that the limited parking has caused them to be late for classes and even some claiming that they could not find parking at all.
“I would say it’s been pretty frustrating with the roads being bumpy and it’s hard to maneuver around the roads,” said Skye Saunders, a commuter student.
“People are going to get upset, but I don’t believe it’s out of control," said Patrick Savolskis, executive director of the Purchase College Association. "We do have parking but people don’t want to use the east lots.”
Savolskis acknowledged he has received many complaints from students who have classes in the music building which is much closer to the west side parking lots than it is to the east side lots meaning those students have to walk farther than they would if they could park in the west lots which are much closer to the music building.
Many people have also been dealing with the pot holes which has been an issue for quite some time on campus and still is a problem in the W2 lot as well. While these issues have been inconvenient and difficult for students and faculty to deal with, most of these issues should be resolved by the end of the semester.
“We will open the West 1 parking lot in phases as portions are complete, but the entire parking lot will be open for parking later this fall,” said Michael Kopas, the senior director of Facilities and Capital Planning. “We will then need to schedule a convenient time to put the final layer of asphalt on and paint the stripes but it is more important to open it up for parking than to finish the final touches at this point.”
Much like Savolskis, Kopas reiterated that there is parking available and students are either unaware or simply don’t want to use the other lots because it may inconvenient for them given their classes may be closer to the west lots. The facilities and capital planning office works daily with the parking office in order to make parking as convenient as possible for students while this project is being done.
Students and faculty also find the roads difficult in the West 2 parking lot with the pot holes and uneven pavement.
“West 2 was supposed to be done in the summer, but contracts issues became a problem,” said Savolskis.
While students and faculty may direct their frustration and anger towards the school, the issues with completing these projects in a timely manner go beyond just the school.
“In order for these projects to be completed funding has to come from the state and that is a problem given contracts have to get involved,” said Salvolskis.