Keene State College’s parking policy has undergone a change.
According to KSC Assistant Director of Campus Safety Leonard Crossman, people now must have a parking pass at all times if they want to park on campus.
According to the old KSC parking policy on the college’s website and old parking lot signage, students only needed a permit to park at the Commuter and Spaulding lots from 12 a.m. on Monday to 4 p.m. on Friday.
Photo illustration by Colton McCracken / Equinox staff
Crossman said that Campus Safety is working with KSC’s Grounds Department to improve parking lot signage. He said Grounds plans to put in new signs, which KSC has already obtained, in the near future.
The parking policy page on KSC’s website has not been updated to reflect these changes.
Students have always needed a parking pass to park at certain areas of campus, such as the Pondside II and Owl’s Nest lots, and to park on campus in the evening.
Crossman said Campus Safety tried to blast out emails to get the word out. “Unfortunately the only way you can get compliance is enforcement. You can send out as many emails as you want, but it only does so much,” Crossman said.
Crossman said Campus Safety is now more prepared to do the job. “[Parking] culture got really relaxed,” he said. “Now, we have a staff who is more proactive and perceptive to that part of the job.”
Crossman said that Campus Safety is upping their enforcement on new and old parking policies to increase campus security and compliance.
Crossman said the main reason Campus Safety requires students to have a parking permit is quick, positive identification of the car’s owner.
Campus Safety can quickly look up a parking permit number and associate it with the student or member of KSC faculty, staff or administration who owns the permit. Campus Safety must go through Keene Police Department to look up the owner of a car without a parking permit, which takes longer.
Parking permits are not around just to create revenue for KSC or to give Campus Safety an excuse to write tickets. Crossman said parking permit numbers can also allow Campus Safety to contact someone if his or her car is in danger. “They help us reach out during times when there’s bad weather and the parking lots by the river starts to flood,” Crossman said.
The new policy encourages visitors of KSC to get a parking pass. Crossman said it’s Campus Safety’s job to know who’s on campus at all times. Visitors must register with a KSC student. Crossman said this helps Campus Safety find the student and the visitor if anything goes wrong.
Students can register their guests and purchase a parking pass at keene.thepermitstore.com The website issues all sorts of parking permits, like Winchester Lot permits, event parking permits and temporary student parking passes. Guest and event parking passes are free of charge.
KSC senior Jason Macie said the new policy “seems a little excessive.”
“There’s a lot of empty, unused space on campus. It’s kind of unfair to those who want to come to a weekend event.”
KSC senior Kevin Aruilio doesn’t have much of a problem with the policy change. “I thought that was the policy all along. I have no problems with it,” he said.
“I feel like it would be better to have an opportunity to park on campus though,” he said. “It would make it easier for off-campus students.”
Students can get in contact with the parking office either by emailing them at parkingservices@keene.edu, or visiting them at the Campus Safety Office.
Alex Fleming can be contacted at afleming@kscequinox.com
