Parking at the Beginning of the Fall Semester
Our Richmond campus vehicular load experiences ebbs and flows throughout the course of the week. This is especially pertinent for the first 2-3 weeks of classes during the Fall semester. History dictates that there is a high parking demand Monday-Thursday from 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., especially in the area of John Hanlon Drive/Van Hoose Drive (close to Fitness & Wellness and the parking garage). The commuter sections of the Alumni Coliseum Lot and Lancaster Lot will experience times when they are completely full and parking on the south side of campus is the best option.
We have a few suggestions to help you have a good experience:
- Give yourself plenty of time to park and travel to your destination on campus. Do not expect to find parking close to buildings during peak use days and times.
- Do not attempt to go to peak-use lots during peak use times.
- Park on the periphery of campus and use the Big E Transit. The Big E Lot is a great option.
- Commuters should park with your exit strategy in mind. Know a few tips about peak areas:
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- Model Lab School releases students at 3:00 p.m. This will cause congestion when exiting the Alumni Coliseum Lot from 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
- The employee section of the Whitlock Lot typically experiences a back-up from 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Avoid this area.
- Exiting the John Hanlon/Van Hoose Drive area onto Kit Carson is a naturally congested area with vehicles and pedestrians.
- Kit Carson Drive typically experiences congested traffic on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.. We recommend avoiding this during peak travel times.
- The left turn lane onto Roy & Sue Kidd Way from the Eastern Bypass experiences backs-up Monday-Thursday from 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (same peak use times as previously noted). We recommend that you avoid this area and choose other available travel routes.
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Parking Lot Safety
When you are traveling in a parking lot, please be mindful that there are pedestrians present. As motorists, we need to be mindful that we are traveling in the middle of pedestrian pathways. Put down your phones, stay focused on driving, and do not attempt to arrive 10-minutes before classes start expecting to find a space close to your building.
As pedestrians, we need to be mindful that drivers are focused on finding a space and that they may choose to be distracted by something other than your personal safety. Vehicles are required to travel slowly in parking lots but hazards do exist which include:
- Vehicles traveling in multiple directions (i.e. 2-way aisles)
- Vehicles backing into spaces
- Vehicles pulling out of spaces unexpectedly
- Drivers illegally parking their vehicles in the right of way causing confusion and delay