While day students have long expressed frustration at the lack of available parking spaces, little progress has been achieved in addressing these complaints. However, due to the efforts of Day Student Representative Ben Hoerner ’05, it is becoming an increasingly likely, though by no means imminent, possibility that day student parking will expand in the near future. Over the past year, Hoerner has been working with Manager of Public Safety Thomas Conlon and the Student Council to resolve the problem of limited day student parking spaces on campus. They propose to convert the faculty-reserved parking spaces in the parking lot behind Stuart House into spaces available to day students. The lot was once a necessity for science teachers going to Evans, but the construction of a lot next to the new Gelb Science Center has eliminated the need for most teachers to park in the Stuart lot. This solution would open up approximately 20 parking spaces for student use. Even with this solution in hand, Hoerner is hesitant to raise the students’ hopes. He said, “Since the students are so passionate about this issue, it is simply a matter of time before the day student parking is expanded, but there are no promises that it will come this year.” If the Academy were to decide by the end of this year to provide more day student parking spaces, the action would not take effect until next fall. While the demand for day student parking spaces closer to academic buildings has remained a fairly constant complaint among day students over the years, the especially inclement weather this past winter has caused more students to speak out against their distant lots. The issue, however, has proved to be more complex than it seems to many day students. “Students arrive every morning and walk through empty faculty parking lots and ask themselves, ‘Why can’t I park here since no one else is?’” Hoerner said. “The problem with that rationale is that not all of the faculty teach first period classes.” He continued, “If students look at these parking lots in the mid-day, they are filled to capacity with teachers’ vehicles.” After seeing these free spots many students are tempted to let their cars remain unregistered. By disregarding this school rule, students can often park in faculty or visitor spaces and avoid tickets from the Phillips Academy Public Safety team. Mr. Conlon said, “I don’t think that [day student parking] has become a problem. I think the real problem is that students just want to park as close to the buildings as possible.” The Academy, however, has not been deaf to day student complaints. At one time PA permitted students to park in a section of the Cochran Chapel lot. However, students often parked outside of the allotted student spaces, and thus the administration rescinded the day students’ right to park in the lot. The fluctuation of parking demands throughout the year also make difficult to accomodate student parking needs. Mr. Conlon said, “Sometimes parents may drop [the students] off, but [the students] will also drive themselves to school two or three times a week.” He continued, “In general… the fall and spring tend to work well, but in the winter people don’t like to walk.” Currently, day students are allowed to park in the spaces provided and monitored by PA in the lot between the football field and the tennis courts, and also in the lot on the west side of Graves Hall. Students may also park on Salem Street, where parking is regulated by the town of Andover. Salem Street is split into two sections, allowing students to park for either two or four hours at a time.
