Faculty and staff who park in the lot behind New Hampshire Hall are upset over the prospect of the College transferring the lot for exclusive use by the Hanover Inn, which already uses half of the approximately 36 spaces.
The controversy is the latest symptom of Hanover's ongoing parking crunch that has resulted, in part, from recent College expansion and construction.
The East Wheelock Residential Cluster, the Moore psychology building and Berry Library were all built on the sites of former parking lots.
Handing over the New Hampshire lot to the Inn "would be a huge inconvenience" and "a major safety issue" for employees who work at the Hopkins Center, said Mara Sabinson, chair of the theater department, which has sent a letter to the administration protesting the proposed transfer.
The lot, she said, is the safest and most accessible option for employees, many of whom do not leave work until after late-night rehearsals and performances.
"A lot of employees, especially women, don't want to be traipsing around in the dark at 11:30 or 12:00 at night," Sabinson said.
Parking officials at Dartmouth and at the Inn, however, maintain that the Inn's parking facilities are currently insufficient, and say the lot won't be designated for the Inn's exclusive use until the College is able to make alternate parking arrangements for its employees who use the lot.
Allowing the Hanover Inn to have full use of the New Hampshire lot would ease the Inn's acute parking shortage, but not solve it, Hanover Inn Manager Matthew Marshall said.
Town zoning laws require the Hanover Inn to provide 172 parking spaces. But the Inn's underground parking garage has only 17 spots. Currently, the Inn pays an extra tax to the town because it fails to meet the 172-space quota.
Bill Barr, of the College's Office of Facilities Operation and Management, said no transfer will take place until Dartmouth can provide alternative parking for the displaced cars.
Under a plan approved by the Trustees two years ago, construction of a new parking garage adjacent to Thayer Engineering School is scheduled to begin in June.
Transfer of the New Hampshire lot is unlikely to happen in the near future, since the Thayer garage would not be operational until at least the fall of 2004.
The Hanover Inn, which is owned and operated by the College, currently shares the lot with college employees who work in nearby buildings, including the Hopkins Center, the Hood Museum and Wilson Hall.
Faculty and staff parking permits allow them to park in any College lot.
Marshall said there are approximately 35 to 37 spots behind New Hampshire Hall. Half of these spots are used for temporary guest valet parking. The Inn also provides valet parking for some Hopkins Center events.
Marshall explained that the Inn uses the lot to move cars off the street before shuttling them down to Thompson and Vale Field lots. Any cars that do not fit in the New Hamp lot are parked by valets on Dartmouth Row.
Barr said that the proposed garage near Thayer Engineering School would "certainly have shuttle service" to the more central parts of campus, but that details have not yet been worked out.
Nevertheless, the theater department has adamantly opposed the transfer since learning of the proposal about six months ago.
Sabinson, the department chair, suggested that the College is putting the financial interests of the College-owned Inn ahead of the safety of its employees.
"To sacrifice our safety for commercial customers of the Hanover Inn is just wrong," Sabinson said.
Barr said that the controversy over the new garage and the transfer of the New Hampshire lot stems from employees resenting a long walk to and from their cars when commuting to work.
A recent faculty/staff survey conducted by Parking Operations determined that the average employee commute time from home to Dartmouth is 25 minutes.
The survey showed people's level of satisfaction varied depending on the availability of parking close to the buildings where they worked.
The high cost of housing in Hanover is the primary reason for the long commute, Barr explained.
The survey showed that, on average, employees with lower salaries make longer commutes.
The cost of faculty and staff parking permits, which is based partly on employee salary, recognizes the added inconvenience of living far from campus, Barr said.
Faculty and upper-level staff pay $120 per year, while service employees pay $72 per year.
Barr said part of the long-term parking planning strategy is to provide alternative ways for employees to get to work.
An Upper Valley Transportation Management Association is now being formed to choose locations for Park n' Rides that would allow people to leave their cars 10 to 15 miles away from campus and catch a shuttle to work.
A possible plan to renovate the College's arts complex would include expanded parking along Lebanon Street.
