Written by: Amanda Blake
Southern Adventist University students can expect to see the student shuttle much less this semester. The shuttle service, started by the university last semester to combat an anticipated parking problem on campus, will no longer operate during the afternoon hours. Furthermore, only one shuttle vehicle instead of two will run in the mornings.
Few students utilized the new service in the afternoons last semester, prompting Southern administrators to cut its hours, as explained in an email Dennis Negrón, vice president for Student Development, sent to students last week.
The shuttle originally ran from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, and 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Fridays. Two vehicles ran in the morning. One ran in the afternoon. This semester, the shuttle will continue to run on weekdays and begin at 7:30 a.m. However, only one vehicle will run, and it will end each day at 12 p.m., so students should anticipate longer wait times. Its route, bookended by Laumere Court and Spalding Cove, will remain unchanged.
In an interview with the Accent, Negrón said the shuttle was implemented to not only alleviate a parking problem anticipated by the university due to increased enrollment, but also to accommodate a growing number of students living in university housing situated away from Southern’s main campus, such as Laumere Court and Spalding Cove. However, shuttle usage numbers recorded by the shuttle drivers last semester demonstrate that the need for a student shuttle was not as great as the university expected, especially in the afternoons.
Typically, 20 to 30 students rode the shuttle each morning, and five to 10 students utilized the service in the afternoons, according to the usage numbers. On a daily basis, shuttle drivers picked up more students at Southern Village than at Laumere Court and Spalding Cove combined, with a few exceptions.
As reported in an Accent article published last September, Campus Safety observed less parking pressure on campus than the university expected when the school year began. Negrón said this observation rang true throughout the fall semester.
Shuttle usage numbers recorded by shuttle drivers last semester demonstrate that the need for a student shuttle was not as great as the university expected, especially in the afternoons.
“There have been fewer complaints about parking than in recent years,” Negrón said. “That’s not to say we haven’t had any complaints about parking, but it doesn’t appear to be as big of an issue this year with this group of students.”
However, more than 50 respondents, comprising 55% of total responses to a poll on the Accent’s Instagram, indicated that they were disappointed to learn the shuttle will no longer run in the afternoons. Over 150 respondents, comprising 95% of total responses in a separate poll, indicated that they believe Southern’s campus has a parking problem.
One of the respondents, Shayla Moguel-Coronel, senior psychology major, said she regularly struggles to find parking on campus.
“I could be [leaving on time to be] 10 minutes early to my next class but still be five minutes late because I can’t find parking,” she messaged the Accent. “I believe that a parking garage in a central part of campus would alleviate the parking issue quite a bit. A great location for the garage would be the lot behind Summerour.”
Moguel-Coronel thinks finding parking has become more difficult this school year. Another respondent, Michael Britt, sophomore construction management major and commuter student, told the Accent that he thinks Southern’s parking situation has improved slightly this year. However, he wishes Campus Safety would better regulate where residential students park.
“I believe that a parking garage in a central part of campus would alleviate the parking issue quite a bit. A great location for the garage would be the lot behind Summerour.”
“I would just say Campus Safety needs to be more consistent with [keeping] parking lots for commuters and faculty more available,” he wrote in response to the poll.
Later, in a message to the Accent, he wrote, “It is quite hard to find parking for Ledford due to dorm students parking there.”
Negrón said most parking complaints come from students who are unable to park where they want instead of students who cannot find parking anywhere on campus. Still, the university is planning to add more parking spaces to campus, he added.
Some recent plans to expand campus parking previously reported by the Accent have already been enacted, such as the gravel lot added by the WSMC radio station last summer. Other plans, including a lot between Hulsey Wellness Center and the Village Market, have not yet come to fruition. Recently, the university has been clearing land adjacent to the SuCasa church on Colcord Drive. According to Negrón, this land could be turned into a parking lot in the future. The Accent will continue to report on parking developments.
In regard to the student shuttle, Negrón said the university has no plans to eliminate the service. Future changes to the service depend on student feedback, usage and enrollment numbers.
