Like any higher education institution based in a municipality, parking at Moravian has been a constant source of student feedback and criticism. To respond to these criticisms, Moravian Campus Police have implemented numerous changes to improve parking on campus.
Most notably, commuters now have access to a Premium Parking plan on North Campus, which allows parking on portions of Greenwich St., Iron St., and Monacacy St. There is a caveat, though. Parking on these streets is on a first come, first serve basis, so students who can’t find a spot will have to park in Lot X.
Premium Commuter Parking costs $150, which is $50 more than the normal commuter plans. Like the resident parking plans, spots are given via a lottery system, which is based on class year and when the parking application is received.
These areas were previously restricted from students. Despite that, a significant number of parking citations were issued in these areas. A month-long data collection initiative by Moravian Campus Police found that 81.4% of cars parked in these areas belonged to students, with the vast majority being commuters.
“Instead of repeatedly issuing parking citations to our students, we felt a better course of action was to manage what was already occurring organically,” said Chief of Police, Harrison Dillard.
Additionally, commuting students and South Campus residents now have expanded options for parking on North Campus, again, with a significant caveat. Students can now park in lots A, F, H, J, M, N, O, and S, but only from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m. These lots are reserved for faculty and staff during the day, however, so students must vacate these lots by 7 a.m.
South Campus students also have a new parking plan available with the new South Guaranteed Parking Pass. This allows students to park in the Spring Street Lot along with Lot U (behind Foy Hall) from the hours of 4 p.m. and 7 a.m. This pass costs $250, the same as the North Guaranteed Parking pass. As with the aforementioned lots on North Campus, Lot U is reserved for faculty, staff, and commuters during the day, so resident vehicles must be removed from the lot by 7 a.m.
Lot U was another lot with a significant number of parking citations. Another data-collecting initiative found that 80% of vehicles being ticketed in this lot were students, with the vast majority being South Campus residents.
Parking during Musikfest and Celtic Classic still remains an issue on South Campus. During these events, the Spring Street lot is used by the vendors at the festivals, displacing cars for South Campus residents. The Spring Street parking lot is not owned by Moravian and the owners of the lot have long-standing contracts to allow vendors to use it for those events.
Last year, Campus police found a viable alternate parking location further down Spring Street for students to park while these events are happening. The lot is owned by The City of Bethlehem, and parking there comes at no additional cost to students.
Future plans for parking have become a concern because more students are enrolling at Moraian and bringing their cars with them. Campus Police continue to work with partners and stakeholders to address these concerns, but nothing has been announced as of yet.
Moravian Parking Plan Receives Changes After Student Criticism
“I am always working on ways to improve parking on campus for our students, faculty, staff, and other members of our community. During my tenure as Chief of Police, I have prioritized finding ways to make parking accessible to as many of our campus constituents as possible, given our limited resources,” said Dillard.
