During a conference call Tuesday, university administrators decided informally to delay the proposed paving of the McComas Hall parking area, vice president of finance and administration Ray Hayes said.
“Given the recent concerns about parking that have developed, we have decided to hold off construction until we can get more feedback from students on how they feel,” Hayes said.
The parking lots to be paved are all gravel lots next to McComas Hall, including the parking area across the street from Hardy Road. The only area not included in the paving is the large parking zone near Music Building A and the Chorus building.
“Those have been earmarked for the new band hall and practice field, so until we garner enough funds for those projects, it will remain a temporary parking space,” said Hayes.
When completed, the half-million dollar project will include 300 parking spaces, a slight drop from the amount of spaces the gravel lot currently holds. With the new construction comes many amenities, including sidewalks, crosswalks, lighting and emergency phones. Handicap-accessible ramps and new sidewalks leading to McComas will also be added.
Some students said they are not happy with the proposed paving.
“Limiting the amount of cars through fewer spaces is not the option. We need more parking and more satisfactory roadways, like three or four-lane roads in some places,” said Adam Pope, a transfer student from Lawrenceburg, Tenn. “They should have paved it during the summer.”
Hayes said that the reason the project didn’t begin this summer is simple. “The Mississippi Legislature didn’t give us an idea of how much money they would be funding us with until June, and by then it was too late to begin.”
Transfer student Bobbie Jo Peach doesn’t think the university is spending money in the right place. “It could be better served in the individual departments, to keep the buildings looking more modern, more professional.”
Both new lots will remain commuter east, Hayes said. “And if our transportation grant comes through, we’ll be able to offer routes into the community of Starkville with four additional shuttles.”
Hayes said students living on University Drive won’t have to worry about driving to class anymore because the shuttles will pick them up, thereby saving parking spaces on campus.
Bill Kibler, vice president of student affairs will work closely with Hayes in the
the coming weeks to develop a solution that both students and the administration can be proud of.
“The goal through all of this is to help the students see the bigger picture of the future of the campus, to talk with them and keep them informed about what’s going on,” said Kibler. “Students communicating through student leaders can address their concerns to us and help us reach a consensus with the student body.”
Hayes said that he doesn’t want students to feel shelved through this process. “Students are the main reason we’re here. They deserve better parking conditions, and our goal over the next several years is to have every lot on campus paved,” Hayes said.
A meeting with student leaders to discuss concerns directly related to parking and the McComas expansion is scheduled for Sept. 20 at a location to be determined.