More parking; new shuttles
by Sharron Walls
Parking. Even MCG Chief of Police Bill McBride calls it “the dreaded ‘P’ word.”
To alleviate the shortage, several steps are being taken, including off-campus parking lots, additional shuttle buses and changes to shuttle service.
“With the way this institution is growing,” says Chief McBride, “and the way real estate is around here, there just aren’t any big flat places to put parking lots. We really don’t have any choice at this point; people are being pushed further and further out on the perimeter to park.”
The university has entered into agreements with Lucy Laney High School and Antioch Baptist Church to use parking lots on their properties east of campus. Plans are to have dedicated shuttle service during peak hours from the lots at the church and the new football stadium to one or two locations on campus – most likely along the research corridor. The lots will be secured by MCG parking enforcement officers.
The purchase of two additional 23-passenger shuttle buses brings the MCG fleet to seven and allows for improvements to service. Currently, buses travel in opposite directions along the same route, arriving at scheduled stops every 18-20 minutes. “Our goal is to get that to less than 10 minutes,” says Chief McBride.
Beginning Dec. 1, instead of Red and Blue routes, buses will travel in the same direction. During the heavy morning and afternoon hours, as employees arrive and leave, three buses in continuous radio contact will be on the route, cutting the wait time in half.