Remedies for parking woes have appeared with the success of a trial drop-off program in front of the Administration Building.

Visitors’ parking stalls were converted into two lanes to provide an area for students and faculty to be dropped off without having to park.

“People would constantly pull up, stop in the middle of the roadway and drop students off,” police chief Mike D’Amico said. “It really has been creating some severe traffic hazards.”

With the development of the drop-off program, students may now enter the campus in a sectioned area without causing traffic congestion or risking injury.

When the trial began on the first day of the semester, the program caused confusion for drivers entering the parking lot.

“It just started; and what we did to help the people out there was to place officers and cadets to direct and answer their questions about it,” D’Amico said.

“We tried to eliminate as much confusion from the very start of the program.”

Tom O’Malley, sign language interpreter, thinks the program may cause more confusion than clarity.

“Where it’s placed is a little confusing because I’ve seen people stop in that little intersection there like, ‘Okay, which way do I go?’ So that’s a little unclear of what that’s for,” O’Malley said.

Although the program has only been in effect for two weeks, the drop-off area has improved traffic flow in the Administration Building parking lots.

“Our evaluations indicate that we’ve improved the congestion over there by between seventy and eighty percent,” D’Amico said.

Noreen Soomro, political science major, has used the drop-off area and finds it to be an improvement.

“Usually, when people turn into this parking lot, and they normally pick people up without this parking zone. It used to get really crowded with the cars, but now since it’s just drop off and they see the signs, it just goes much quicker,” Soomro said.

“It’s a little safer too.”

“We see that they are now getting used to it and using it. The e-mail I’ve received from students, staff, faculty and managers have all been very positive.”

Some students are concerned that the space used for the drop-off lanes are a waste of valuable parking spots.

However, D’Amico said there is a solution to this matter.

“That was all visitors parking over there. What we did with that is we moved the visitors’ parking; those thirteen stalls are now down here, around from the police station. We just moved it down farther,” D’Amico said.

“Time will just tell to see if it’s really a good idea,” O’Malley said.