IU limited a section of the CH6 parking area outside of Briscoe Quad on Oct. 28. Students with a CH6 parking pass were emailed about the change Oct. 25, three days before cars were forced to move.
Students were given access to parking at the corner of 13th Street and Fee Lane and designated areas near the stadium.
Angered and unprepared for the change, students started a petition, freshman Kaylie Demaree said. It was signed by over 380 people as of Oct. 29.
Demaree, who works late nights, said she uses the Guardian App, texts her friends at night, carries pepper spray and stays near other people when she walks from her car to Briscoe.
“I do everything I’m supposed to do,” Demaree said. “This just makes it even harder to be safe.”
Freshman Laura Stancato said she expected more from the university.
“I paid extra to park here so I could be safe when I walk in the dark,” Stancato said.
The Office of Parking Operations did not give students as much information as it should have about the parking change, Amanda Turnipseed, IU director of parking operations, said.
Turnipseed said contrary to what students have heard by email, the lot is not closed. Instead, workers are planning to add a construction fence where some parking spots were located before.
Turnipseed said there will be signs later this week to indicate where students can still park. Until signs are up, students with CH6 passes will not receive citations there. She said about 40 cars will fit in the lot.
Construction on the parking lot will continue for 18 to 24 months, Turnipseed said. The CH-6 lot behind Foster is now EM-S parking only.
IU Parking Operations learned about the parking lot changes less than two weeks ago, Turnipseed said. She said students were told about the changes last-minute because parking operations was in a rush to find alternative parking.
IU Parking Operations is offering refunds for the remainder of the semester for students who wish to return their CH6 pass. The original price for CH6 passes was $236, and students would be refunded about $177 to account for the fees of the rest of the semester, Turnipseed said.
“We understand this has been very challenging and frustrating for students,” Turnipseed said. “We want to make sure this project causes as little pain as possible.”
