Parking concerns are becoming increasingly common in communities where residential and business areas come together. Not only is there traffic from commuters and employees in these areas, but also from residents, themselves. These problems seem to be similar in places where there are a lot of people - on military installations, at universities and at apartments and condominiums.
“Even though I have not been directly affected with any parking issues, I feel that, when we expand, it may create a problem,“ one Fort Belvoir employee said.
Belvoir employee, Theresa Cline, agreed.
“With more people coming on to post via hospital and government agencies, there’s not going to be anywhere to park,“ Cline said. “I worry about the safety, because a lot of people make their own parking spaces. This can create the danger of accidents.“
Recent Belvoir Eagle articles highlighted some of the challenges of parking on post.
Although, Belvoir residents, employees and commuters may feel frustrated about the parking problem, they are not alone in their concerns. No matter what the community, county or state, parking concerns exist and, oftentimes, may be more similar than one may think.
For years, employees and commuters of Fort Gordon, near Augusta, Ga., have been feeling the brunt of parking concerns, particularly at its Eisenhower Army Medical Center.
“We had a lot of problems with patients parking in employee-reserved parking spaces,“ Brenda F. Harris, a former hospital employee, said. “It got so bad that we were mandated to register our cars to receive employee stickers,“ Harris said. “Those violators, who did not have proper decals, were ticketed and then turned into the Provost [Marshal’s] Office.“
Even though an employee parking lot was provided, employees frequently complained about having to walk too far to get to the hospital.
“We had to walk at least a quarter of a mile to get to the hospital,“ Harris said. Many employees of the hospital complained that the parking lots accommodated the patients rather than employees.
Eventually, a shuttle bus was provided to bus employees from the employee parking lot to the hospital. The shuttle bus ran about every five to 10 minutes. The hospital also posted cameras in the parking lots, in an attempt to catch violators.
“There were certain hours that employees were able to park in the patient parking lots; from about 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.,“ Harris said.
For many universities, parking is also a growing concern. Students and residents of Hampton University deal with these issues regularly. The university, in Hampton, Va., is home to more than 5,000 students and residents.
Although, the school issues student and resident decals, community members still have frequent issues with students parking in resident-assigned parking.
“I feel like parking is more catered toward the faculty than the students,“ Hampton University senior, Keenon Harris, said. “A lot of time, students don’t want to walk far to get to their classes, so, they park illegally,“ he added.
An administrator from the university’s traffic office said there are constant violators.
“We get a lot of complaints about students parking in residential areas,“ he said. “Many students do not pay attention, or simply disregard the rules and regulations of parking on and off the campus,“ he said.
Due to the increasing problem, the residential area created its own set of rules and regulations. All residents must have a parking decal. Also, there is a small parking lot provided for visitors.
Outside the gates, in the Washington Metropolitan Area, many condominium and apartment communities are faced with a similar problem - learning to share the limited space for parking with nearby businesses.
One metro D.C. company says it has incorporated multiple methods to control parking in its communities.
“We have variety of situations: we have open parking, permitted parking and garage [parking] with a permit,“ said Althea Sonneville, director of marketing at Gates, Hudson and Associates.
GHA is a private real estate investment, leasing and management company specializing in the leasing and management of office, industrial buildings, shopping centers and multi-family apartment properties.
“Even when we have open space, first-come first-served parking, we do require a parking permit,“ Sonneville said. “That way, we’re in control of our residents vehicles and we know they belong.“
Sonneville said guests of the residents are required to use guest cards, which are placed in the visiting car’s windshield.
“Everyone seems to be happy,“ Sonneville said. “Of course, the preferred method is assigned. Sometimes that’s kind of hard to do. But, we’ve had no issues with first-come first-served.
While the problem may be universal, it hasn’t stopped Belvoir officials from continuing to search for ways to improve the situation on post.
Belvoir’s Traffic Coordination and Management Plan Working Group continues to research alternative ways to alleviate the traffic flow on and off the installation with the ultimate goal of improving conditions and providing a safer, happier and more positive experience for Belvoir’s residents, employees and visitors.
