Town Residents to Hear Porter Lot Proposal

Author: Paul Barnwell

A comprehensive Middlebury College parking plan will be presented on Wednesday night at the Middlebury town planning meeting, enabling citizens to voice concern over or support for the proposal.

The report, prepared by Director of Public Safety Lisa Boudah, includes a plan to create a large student and event parking lot between Porter Hospital and the baseball field on the South Street extension, in addition to an expansion of the Center for the Arts parking lot.

In recent years, the report states on the College Web site, demand for parking spaces on Middlebury's campus has grown due to a "deliberate, gradual increase in enrollment, faculty and support staff." The estimated number of registered student vehicles is expected to reach 1,100 by the end of the year, according to the report, with the number of staff permits standing at more than 1,399. As of September 2001, a total of 1,966 spaces, including 1,006 for student and 960 for faculty and staff members, were available on campus.

The College hopes to maintain its commitment to "the principle of a pedestrian campus" by investing in more parking. Last October, President John McCardell reinforced the affirmation of the administration's support for a pedestrian campus when he released a set of eight principles to govern campus parking. One principle stressed the need to provide "convenient parking, defined as parking within a 5 to 7 minute walk of the workplace" for faculty and staff members. Another principle stated that "simplicity, credibility and equity should be guidelines for the development of parking regulations and enforcement of them," according to the online report.In November, following the release of the governing principles, Boudah presented her preliminary proposal to the College Executive Council and the Town Planning Commission.

Middlebury Town Planner Fred Dunnington stated that "early reactions were favorable" in response to the CFA plan, which includes the addition of 103 parking spaces. The entrance to the CFA lot would be relocated to the intersection of Route 30 with the Stewart Hill road if the project were completed.

The 365-space Porter lot proposal, on the other hand, will probably draw some opposition, Dunnington said.

"It's a little less clear with the Porter one," Dunnington commented. "South Street residents are concerned about the effects of additional traffic. We're hoping that there will be some traffic calming plans proposed."

He also noted concern over the distance of the lot from the center of campus — a 15-minute walk to McCullough. "It's asking a lot to have students drive past open spaces to park in a new lot … when public spaces are closer in downtown Middlebury," Dunnington said.

Boudah's proposal also outlines future strategies to implement the pedestrian campus, including plans to improve bike infrastructure, pedestrian infrastructure and traffic flow.

Marketing the pedestrian campus way of life is also one of the College's initiatives, as is the possible inception of a shuttle service to "provide a reliable shuttle bus for the College community between the central campus, remote lots, the hospital and downtown."