While construction has forced a number of parking lot closures around campus, the TCU Police Chief says the university is not simply taking away spaces without providing suitable alternatives.”We’re not ever taking spots away without adding more,” said Steve McGee, TCU Police Chief.
Since summer 2006, one-third of the lots around campus have been changed, and TCU is planning more changes in the near future, said Don Mills, vice chancellor for student affairs.
With the recent closure of parking lots in front of Colby and Moncrief Halls many main campus parking permit holders have been forced to park elsewhere.
To counter this, TCU police have allowed students with main campus parking passes to park in the freshman and overflow lots on the Northwest side of campus, TCU Police Sgt. Alvin Allcon said.
With the construction of the indoor football practice area, several lots in the adjacent parking lot have also been removed.
“Those spaces will be replaced in March when the project is completed,” Mills said.
The TCU Police Department has also added several bus routes, including one from the Sandage lot east of campus to the TCU Bookstore parking lot.
Sgt. Michael Hanvey, of the TCU Police Department, said the extra bus route is added at the beginning of each semester due to the lack of parking outside the bookstore lot.
Students, however, are not the only members of the TCU community who have had to sacrifice parking spaces.
Last summer, some administrators chose to give up their reserved parking spaces nearby and park in parking lots farther away.
Faculty and staff were given two choices: pay more for a reserved space in the faculty/staff lots or use the general parking lots and ride the shuttle to class, said Don Mills, vice chancellor for student affairs.
“Many have chosen to save that money and use the shuttle services instead,” Mills said.
Although some have been inconvenienced by the recent construction and parking lot closures, McGee said, it is all a part of TCU’s transformation into a pedestrian-friendly campus.
