Classes at the University of Arkansas begin for the fall 2020 semester on Monday. But as you may have noticed, students and the accompanying traffic have returned to the city of Fayetteville. The university's parking and transit department is trying to find new ways to mitigate some of that congestion on and around the Fayetteville campus.
Drew Watzki, communications manager for transit and parking, spoke with Ozarks at Large's Daniel Caruth last week.
Caruth: You know, we're in the midst of moving. School is about to start. People are coming into campus. Can you give me an overview right now? What is it like on campus, parking-wise? Transit-wise, what's going on?
Watzki: Yeah. We're getting really excited for this time of year. Starting to feel the energy on campus again as students start to pile in. The next couple weeks we'll have some move-in, we'll have a week, which is the week before classes start, for everyone to get acclimated to campus. And then once classes start on the 18th is when we'll be the busiest.
We're really excited for that, but also we've got 40,000 people trying to all come to campus at the same time. Parking is going to be a challenge during those first couple weeks of school the most, so we just want people to be aware of that. We'll have staff members in parking lots and garages to help answer questions and provide guidance if anyone's just trying to find somewhere to park.
We've also been promoting Lot 500, which is a little bit south of campus off Beechwood Avenue. We always have spaces out there, and our transit system will run to that lot and pick folks up and bring them up to campus. So we're encouraging people: go secure yourself a parking spot, get on the bus with some AC, and enjoy your ride up to campus.
Caruth: As school's beginning, maybe more freshmen are going to be on campus, people who've not been here before. What are the big mistakes people make when they're trying to fight for parking or make their way to campus? Or things they maybe don't know, like someone could walk from their apartment but doesn't realize that?
Watzki: Absolutely. I think first off, if you live on campus, you really don't need to drive to class. Especially once you're on the hill, it's pretty easy to walk. The hill can be a little bit tougher, but if you're living on campus, you can walk or bike or scooter around campus.
If you're coming from off campus, we run into people trying to find parking closer to the center of campus, which is just really limited. We recommend people find a spot a little bit further out, get on the bus, and ride up. That way you're not circling parking lots and trying to find a spot for 15, 20, 30 minutes. We want to make sure people get to class on time.
Another good piece of advice is give yourself plenty of time before you need to get to campus, especially this time of year. You can go see the newly renovated Mullins Library, which is fantastic. I don't know if you've been in there yet, but it looks great. Go get a coffee at Hilco. Just give yourself plenty of breathing room for those first couple weeks of school, because that's when it's busiest.
Caruth: I know you’re adding some more routes for buses and there’s a new trail system. Can you talk about those additions and ways people can get around?
Watzki: Absolutely. Our transit system knows we need more buses out there because people are riding them, which is great news. But the worst thing is when you get to a bus stop and the bus shows up and it's already full.
Specifically on routes that are running to parking lots south of campus, we're increasing our frequency. Even if you're at the bus stop and it's full, we should be getting one through there every 15 minutes so you don't have to wait too long.
With the trail system, campus has been really intentional about providing access for alternative transportation. If you ride a bike, if you ride a scooter, maybe you're a runner—not me, but some people are—you’ve got good access from the Fayetteville area to get to campus without having to hunt for a parking spot.
Caruth: It's a public university, so you have more than just students or staff coming onto campus. For guests or people coming for a lecture or event, what do they need to know about parking and navigating campus?
Watzki: We have areas of campus where you can pay for hourly parking, including in each of our garages. That's an easy option for guests. You can also buy a day pass as a visitor. It's $8, and it lets you park in any faculty-staff parking lot on campus.
If you're new to campus and trying to figure out where to park, our parking office is always happy to answer questions. Please give us a call beforehand, and we can figure out where you're trying to go and find the best spot for you.
People in the surrounding area will notice an influx of traffic and vehicles on campus those first couple weeks of school. We know that's coming—it happens every year. It'll be tricky for a while, but after a couple weeks in, people start to find their routine, and things usually clear up.
Caruth: So just be patient with the students?
Watzki: Absolutely.
Caruth: School is beginning, which also means football season is starting up. What do people need to know about game days?
Watzki: If you're a student, there are certain parking lots we need to clear out for fans to be able to park in. Those are all of our lots indicated by a green sign, and they show up as green on our map as well. We'll communicate with students before every game to remind them to move their cars.
There's plenty of parking down by the baseball stadium where you can move your car. For fans coming to campus, we have a lot of parking on the perimeter of campus and game day shuttles to bring you to the stadium. If you're a tailgater, you'll get out there early anyway and enjoy the scene. Give yourself plenty of time before the game and enjoy the atmosphere of a fall football Saturday.
Caruth: Parking, like you said at the beginning, is maybe not the most exciting topic, but having this influx is a good thing for campus. Why are these good challenges to have?
Watzki: You said it. We're just as much a part of the university as every other department, and we're excited to see all these students on campus. Even in the weeks leading up to it, we're preparing to see all these Razorbacks here.
Our biggest goal is to provide as seamless of a parking experience as we can. We're partnering with a third-party company right now to try to improve our communications to faculty, staff, students and guests, because we want people to understand how to park on campus.
If you feel educated—knowing you can park here at this time with your permit—it makes things easier. When you're confused about whether you can park in a lot or if you need to pay, that's when things get tougher.
We're trying this year to reach out to students and faculty to make sure they understand the parking system as best as possible. And like I mentioned, increasing our bus frequency to make sure we're properly serving both campus and the Fayetteville city as a whole.
Caruth: The best way for people to find information? I know you have the Passio Go app.
Watzki: The Passio Go app is our best resource. You can live track where each of our buses are and see information about routes and stops. You can also go to our website, parking.uark.edu, which takes you to the main transit page. On the website we’ve also got parking with all of our parking information.
Drew Watzki is the facilities management and transit and parking communications manager at the University of Arkansas. He spoke with reporter Daniel Caruth last week.
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