The 2017 parking survey and summary was released by the Otterbein Police Department on October 23rd. The yearly survey answers many of the complaints from students in regards to where parking spots are on campus.
The parking survey and summary released by the Otterbein Police Department lists the number of open spots per campus lot and compares the current year's data to the previous two year's data. The summary leads with the most underutilized lots on campus including the spots at 60 Collegeview (The Point), spots near Davis Hall and the service lot on Park Street.
So, is there parking on campus? Technically, yes there is. Otterbein Police Department Chief Larry Banaszak summed up the parking situation in the email he sent with the publishing of this year's parking survey.
The total number of parking permits issued went down 79 permits compared to last year. This is a 5.5 percent decrease from last year.
The total number of available parking spots for students also went down 33 spots. The report indicates an increase in the total of spots on campus but this is due to a service lot being added, The service is not available to students.
According to the survey, the lot at 60 Collegeview (The Point) has the most parking spots on campus with at least 100 spots open at any time of day.
Since the beginning of the semester, one third of the total days have seen a restriction to the spots meant for students. This is due in part to outside visitors coming in for athletic and university sponsored events. Furthermore, the Otterbein Police Department has removed full sections of parking lots from student use on five different school days.
A majority of the athletic events happen outside the normal hours of 9 to 5 when parking spots are supposed to be cleared up, according to the parking summary.
In comparison to the number of spots on the 2016 survey, the lower service lot, Davis and 60 Collegeview (The Point) spots had fewer available spots during regular business hours.
The data of the survey quotes Henry Lawrence from the Informational Technology department on campus as the compiler. He said that the data may contradict itself as the data may have been taken at different times of the year.
On October 12, the Otterbein University Student Government held a town hall meeting that touched on campus parking and quoted this data. A student at the meeting asked whether or not there was a possibility of having a parking structure added to campus. Collette Masterson said that it would cost around $600 per car to pay for the garage.
