Crossings residents offered Townhouse garage parking

Next semester, the Rowan University will offer Campus Crossings residents a chance to purchase parking in the Townhouse parking garage to make up for the limited parking at the apartment complex.

“Students needed a solution. What was going on could not be continued,” said Joe Cardona, Director of Media and Public Relations.

Earlier this semester, overnight parking in commuter lots was banned on campus. For two years prior to the ban, the university let Campus Crossings residents park overnight with the proper parking stickers.

Parking Administrator Walter Andres said that the ban was lifted years ago to accommodate the apartment residents and that it posed potential security problems. When cars are in commuter lots overnight, there is a need for campus security and the Rowan Police to patrol the area.

The President Office and Student Affairs began to coordinate decisions to create a new solution that was put into place this year. The Rowan University Board of Trustee approved all university parking rules and regulation, which did not include overnight parking.

But student feedback has prompted the administration to look at further solutions for Campus Crossings residents, including lifting the overnight parking ban once again.

“The solution starting Jan. 19 will be that students will be allowed to park in the Townhouse Parking Garage for $140,” Cardona said. “Students who park here must also have a commuter decal, which is $60.”

These parking permits are now on sale on a first-come basis at the Parking Office in Bole Hall Annex, as well as thepermitstore.com.

Decisions to try and fix the problem began last semester, but according to Cardona, students were not informed of the new installment of payment.

“The decision caught students off-guard, which is why the deadline for the parking payment was pushed back to January,” Cardona said. “Many students who leased apartments last semester were not notified that they had a place to live, but nowhere to park their car.”

Some students find the price of the required permits to be too high.

“It’s ridiculous, it should be just at much as a resident pass,” said junior civil engineering major Nick Falvo.

Falvo said he thinks the apartment complex is responsible and it should expand about five feet toward Heritages Dairy Store, and make their parallel parking spots straight.

Daniel Dinan, a junior management of information systems major and Campus Crossings resident, said he is glad that Rowan got involved because many Campus Crossings residents are students. However, he said the apartment complex should also think of their own solution.

“I would like to have Crossings build more parking that is easily accessible to students,” Dinan said. “[The Townhouses] are too high and too far away.”

Joe Lamberti, a junior radio/TV/film major, said he doesn’t understand Rowan’s involvement.

“It’s ridiculous and I don’t know why Rowan feels they have to step in and absolve Crossings from their legal obligations to provide real parking for their residents,” Lamberti said.

For more information, contact the Parking Office at extension 4575 or parkingservice@rowan.edu.