New parking policy shortens parking time in Memorial Union Lot to accommodate tenants. PHOTO CREDIT: Hannah Charron
The University of Rhode Island has changed the policy on parking in the lot behind the Memorial Union to 45-minute time slots at all times.
This change was done in order to help the tenants of the Memorial Union. Students that park in the lot for longer than that time will receive a $25 fine.
According to Abigail Rider, vice president of the division of administration and finance, there have been complaints from non-students about parking in the lot over the past year, Rider said.
“The whole point of the law is so that that parking lot is strictly for customers of the tenants in the Memorial Union,” Rider said.
Students with cars have multiple options for parking, according to Rider. The Plains Road, Fine Arts Center and Keaney Gymnasium parking lots are all student commuter parking lots that provide space for students to park.
Rider emphasized that students should use the Rhody Blue Line shuttle to get from their cars to their classes throughout the day. Students parking in Plains Road Parking Lot can also use the Hill Climber bus to get to the top of campus.
“During the pandemic, we added parking along Flagg Road to open up more spots for students,” Rider said. “Although these lots aren’t exactly conveniently located around campus, students can park there all day and walk from class to class.”
Rider said that she is aware that there has been trouble with traffic and parking over the past week for students coming in and out of URI for classes and activities.
“Every year, at the beginning of the school year, there’s massive amounts of traffic coming in and out of campus,” Rider said. “By the end of this month, students and staff will be in a routine of when they need to come and go for their classes and the traffic will get smaller as time goes on.”
Brenda Celona, the owner of Total Image Hair Salon on the lower level of the Memorial Union, said that she is very happy with the decision that the University made about this parking lot.
“Normally, my clients have to drive around the lot two or three times waiting for a spot to open up,” Celona said. “With the time limit only being 45 minutes, it keeps the flow of traffic going and spots open in the parking lot for my customers to park.”
Celona said that the Department of Transportation and Parking (TAP) has been very helpful in working with her when clients need to stay longer than 45 minutes for their appointments. Some processes, such as hair coloring or blow-drying, could take up to a few hours to complete.
Overall, the feedback from her clients has been very positive since the change. Celona said that they love being able to get here and not having to worry about finding a parking spot.
“Whenever I have someone coming in for a longer appointment, I make sure to call and let Transportation Services know that they need to be there for however long, and they make sure to not give them a fine,” Celona said.