Anyone who drives to campus might have noticed that parking is trickier than usual at Saint Mary’s.
At the September 28 University Town Hall, Michelle Benoit, VP Administration and Finance shed some light on the situation, noting there are several factors impacting parking availability.
“A significant factor is changes to neighborhood street parking. Many areas around campus that were once 2-hour parking now require a permit,” she said.
Construction around the campus area is also having an impact. “Road construction on Inglis Street has reduced the availability of street parking, with about 20 construction crew typically arriving at 6 a.m. to park on adjacent streets for the day,” she added.
“Additionally, up the street, the IWK has reduced parking due to construction, which means that more of their employees are parking in the neighborhood.”
Part of ensuring availability is the ability to use parking enforcement tools like ticketing and parking boots. Facilities management and the Security team are actively monitoring parking throughout the day, and issuing tickets as needed to unauthorized vehicles, which has led to some improvement.
Regulations for use of parking boots have changed, and currently SMU is not permitted to use them. The university is working with the HRM to obtain required designation.
Some good news: the parking lot in front of Inspiration Hub should be paved within the next two weeks and be turned over for use shortly after, opening up 12 to 15 parking spots.