Parking ban riles Fletcher

Author: Annie Onishi

The winter parking ban that went into effect Nov. 1 has created headaches for residents of Fletcher House, a Cook Commons residence. After a series of noise complaints from neighbors last year, parking in the Fletcher House parking lot was eliminated from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays - forcing the mostly upperclassmen residents of Fletcher House to seek alternative parking arrangements.

The fine for a violation of the current Fletcher parking restriction is $75. This restriction was meant to prevent noise from the comings and goings of weekend party attendees at Fletcher House. Combined with the winter parking ban, which eliminates parking on the street, it has forced Fletcher House residents to park in other locations such as Jewett House, and sometimes as far away as the Center for the Arts parking lot.

Cook Commons Dean David Edleson said that the Fletcher House parking ban went into effect at the beginning of this year, and was a product of several meetings that occurred last year between the College and Fletcher's neighbors, who were concerned with the increase in noise from cars, stereos and alarms at all hours of the night.

Fletcher House resident Jacques Jenny '06 took issue with these complaints. Jenny believes that the real noise problems occurred when Public Safety would break up parties and 30 or so people would leave at once, making noise as they departed.

Jenny also added that prohibiting parking in the lot spread the noise problem into the street, thereby affecting the entire neighborhood as opposed to immediate neighbors only.

Jenny said, "Now we've just created the same [parking] problem for other houses. We [the residents of Fletcher House] have three more cars than there are spots in our lot. We have to park in other houses' lots and it has led to heightened animosity from neighbors."

Patrick Leibach '06, another Fletcher House resident, said that sometimes he and his housemates were parking at CFA or the athletics complex.

Jenny added, "That's going to be a real long walk come February."

Edleson stated that some Fletcher House residents knew about the possibility of this policy's implementation at the end of last year during room draw. Because the policy was instated in response to the behavior of previous Fletcher House residents, current residents have asked Edleson to pursue a policy adjustment.

Edleson said, "Until this weekend, the residents of Fletcher House have been doing a lot to show that they're trying to live respectfully in the neighborhood." Edleson added that he had received correspondence from a neighbor reporting the recent good behavior of the students and continued to say that as long as the situation was improving, the chances of re-instating parking privileges would continue to increase.

However, until some sort of conclusion or compromise can be reached between Fletcher House residents, town residents and the College, the bike rack at Fletcher House will be full and Fletcher House residents will be parking far away.

Leibach solved the problem his own way: "I sent my car home with my parents last weekend."