Limited on-campus parking frustrates students, faculty, and staff

Many students are finding it difficult — and sometimes outright impossible — to park on campus this year. In an interview with The Colby Echo, Director of Security Robert Williams spoke about the parking issues on campus and downtown.

“The most common complaint that we get regarding parking is that there simply is not any here on campus,” he said. “We get numerous requests from students and parents to park on campus, and it is impossible to address them all since we just lack the space to do so.”

When parking registration ended this summer, Security was unable to give fifty students parking stickers for on-campus lots. The parking situation has forced all first-years and many sophomores to park in off-campus lots.

“We have remote lots to give those who want to park somewhere a place, though getting sufficient parking on campus has always been an issue, and the remote lots off-campus hardly remedy that. In addition, the increased class size has added to this greatly, considering how parking is already limited,” Williams said.

In his Nov. 4 email, President David Greene wrote that the College will build a parking garage before completing the new quadrangle in 2025. It should drastically increase the amount of on-campus parking. Although, the exact quantity of new spots to be added is still unknown. While a parking garage will alleviate parking anxiety, its construction remains years away.

In a conversation with The Colby Echo, Security Officer Craig Shores explained that Security has received many complaints from Waterville residents and business owners about students illicitly parking. Left without a convenient option, students take up many spaces in Waterville’s primary parking lot, the Concourse. The College told business owners that students would not park there; however, it has not enforced its promise.

Students living downtown have had particular difficulty parking. Residents of the Bill & Joan Alfond Main Street Commons may use the fifty spots in the Appleton Street lot as well as the nine spots next to the Concourse, which have a two-hour limit. However, for most students living downtown, the Head of Falls lot is their only parking option. Walking to this lot at night has made many students feel uncomfortable, and while the Waterville Police Department says that the area is safe, students still often report suspicious activity at night.

Shores said that Security has instituted a number of measures to make students feel safer. Students can request that the shuttle drop them off at the Head of Falls or that a security officer walks them to the lot. 

The parking situation downtown is unlikely to change. With the continuous development of downtown Waterville, parking will probably become even scarcer. Regardless of its form, students eagerly await a timely solution.

~ Matt Rocha `23 and Dimitri Lin `25