How Do UW Students Feel About the New Green That Was Once Parking?
Back in May of 2023, what was known as the “Union Lot” or “Day Lot” was closed permanently. This closure was necessitated by the $250 million student housing and dining project that students are now fully utilizing.
Now that the buildings have been completed, a new phase of the project is underway. Where this parking lot once was, in front of Coe Library and East of Half Acre Gym, there will be more green lawn installed for students to recreate.
However, with word traveling around, students have begun to express their disappointment. It appears that many students at the university were under the impression that there would be more parking – a common complaint heard from both staff and students.
Cole Kirchhoefer, a freshman at the university, said, “There is already so little parking as it is, and it really hurts those living off campus.”
The lawn will be located in front of Coe Library, making for an accessible location to rent a book and lay in the sun or study with the warmer weather. Though it would add more green to the university, students have said that on either side of this lawn, there is Prexy’s Pasture and “Frat Mall”, both of which serve as grassy recreational areas that are already oftentimes used.
What students have not voiced to the university is the need for more green, but rather, more parking.
“The parking space being turned into a green space would look nice but is really inconvenient for students that are in need for closer and more efficient spaces, which could be that front of the Union lot,” said freshman Greta Morgenweck, who lives on campus.
When the university started deconstruction on what was once the “Union Lot”, they had announced the construction of the Ivinson Parking Garage, which contains 373 parking spaces and also serves as a headquarters for the UW Police Department. 315 of these spaces are for those who paid for “Gold” parking permits, while the others are dedicated to UW police and metered parking.
While it isn’t as conveniently positioned as the Union Lot once was, it still offers a considerable number of parking spaces as compared to the Union’s 148 spaces. With the increase of space for parking, the annual pass for purchasing a “Gold” permit that would be required to park at the Ivinson Parking Garage is roughly $64 more than the Union’s previous “Brown” permit.
Essentially, this means that the campus lost more conveniently located and affordable parking in exchange for 167 parking spaces that are less conveniently located, new dormitories, a new dining center and more green lawn.
With it framed in this way, do students still disagree with the green and newer amenities that come with it, or would the lawn have been better off continuing to operate as a parking lot 3 years later?
