More parking spots coming for commuters, bus service to go 24/7

Parking Services announced that it has made major changes to its policy for the 2013-14 school year. Just weeks into the first semester at the University of West Georgia, commuter students can look forward to an overall increase in parking spaces throughout the campus.

“Parking services has heard the concerns of the students in regards to their parking needs and we have made great progress on the matter,” said Ely Elefante, Associate Director of Auxiliary Services. “By requiring freshman students to park their cars in a designated lot at the athletic complex, Parking Services has increased the parking space for commuter students by 12%.”

There are now over 6,000 parking spaces at the University and Parking Services continues to work around the clock to find ways to enhance parking for both students and faculty.

The new space comes with changes regarding UWG freshmen. Shuttle busses will now travel to the athletic complex as a part of their daily route to provide complete service to displaced freshmen students. In addition to this, the red route now runs clockwise, 24/7 around the UWG campus to the athletic complex. Parking Services has announced that safety measures have been provided for students traveling during those late night hours. A patrol post has been placed at the stadium as well as Campus Safety offer escorts for those traveling late at night.

Along with the new parking regulations for freshman come frustrating rules regarding home football games. For home games, freshmen students will be required to move their cars back on campus to provide parking for game day patrons. During that time freshmen students can park in any space on campus that is not reserved space or marked for faculty and staff. Parking Services are still working to provide information in regard to weekday games. Last week’s game against Miles College was the first in which Parking Services implemented the plan to open up space at the stadium. There are still kinks to be worked out in reference to game day traffic due to UWG’s schedule of Thursday home games this year.

For students looking to avoid the hassle of game day traffic and searching for parking spaces, campus shuttles provide a fast and convenient way to navigate around campus. More stops have been added this year including a local apartment shuttle to increase ridership amongst students on campus. Parking Services hopes to surpass last year’s numbers of servicing over half a million riders. The clean and reliable transportation now comes equipped with Wi-Fi as well as an app to help students map out there commute in a timely fashion. The shopping shuttle will also be provided two days out of the week this year to give residents on campus the opportunity to purchase food and other necessities for their dorms.

“Parking services is always looking to address the needs of the students,” said Elefante.

As UWG grows, the plan for more convenient parking becomes necessary. In addition to the many changes this year by parking services, students can look forward to an easier commute and even more space in the years to come. A new parking lot for the School of Nursing will be completed by mid-November this year.

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