HOV lot grand opening ‘to encourage carpooling’

Christopher Labzda / senior photographer Student Body President Tom Culligan spoke at Monday's HOV lot grand opening.

There’s strength in numbers, safety in numbers and now parking in numbers. The Student Government Association and Parking Services officially opened an HOV parking lot for commuter students who carpool during a press conference on Monday.

Student body president Tom Culligan led a campaign to open certain on-campus parking lots exclusively to high-occupancy vehicles. Working with Parking Services on behalf of SGA, Culligan hopes to encourage carpooling among students, opening up R6 Lot to vehicles carrying at least three people. The HOV lot is located off of Duke Drive near Garber Hall and next to R1 Lot. "It is a great location," Culligan said. "It is much less of a hike than from the back of the [R1 Lot]."

Culligan said the lot usually is full, but that is because residents still park there illegally. He said that about five to eight commuters park there a day.

"Since we can’t build new lots, this is the type of immediate solution that we can do in the meantime," Culligan said, who spoke at the press conference.

Culligan came up with the idea during his campaign for office last year, and it served as an integral part of his platform. "There was really no way to encourage people to carpool under the current system. This is a way to encourage carpooling and reward those who do," he said.

"Any student commuter could have a space waiting for them in this lot," Culligan added. It does not require a special pass, meaning any car with a valid commuter pass is eligible to park.

"I am very excited about the HOV lot because parking is such a problem," senior Lydia Oppe said. "Maybe this will help alleviate some of the problems."

The lot may be small, but with the HOV policy, this means that its 18 spaces will serve 54 students. "That’s 36 students not driving," Culligan said.

Towana Moore, the associate vice president of business services, also spoke at the opening. Moore emphasized that Parking Services always is open to new ideas from students. "We were very excited to work with Tom," Moore said. "I don’t think most students realize that there is student representation on our board."