By Caleb Miller, Austin Moehn, Travis Leiterman & Dylan Schmidt
Recently, there have been concerns regarding the safety of housing due to the increased construction on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (UW-Green Bay) campus.
Campus construction building a new parking lot on campus, Tuesday, April 4th. Photo by Caleb Miller
UW-Green Bay students have various reactions to the projects going on, but the commonality between them is some level of frustration. Dylan Zoelle is a UW-Green Bay junior who lives in John Robishaw Hall, the on-campus apartment building closest to the construction of the Main Housing Parking Lot. “The construction has impacted me mainly because it is right outside of my window,” said Zoelle. “….The view being pretty bad, the sound of the construction waking me up pretty early, and not being able to park there or cut through the parking lot.” Even with these factors, Zoelle isn’t too bothered by it. “The noise does bother me in the mornings occasionally, but it’s bearable, and I now park at the Kress Center.”
Distance between construction on campus and John Robishaw Hall, Tuesday, April 4th. Photo by Caleb Miller
Adam Wilkes, another student at UW-Green Bay, believed that the timing seemed off, stating, “It did feel bizarre to have it shut down during the middle of a semester, yet I understand it is to keep with the construction timeline.” When asked if he had any challenges going to class because of the construction, Wilkes replied, “It does make my walk longer, and it’s an inconvenience but overall, nothing too annoying.”
Wilkes also talked about parking challenges due to the construction. “Parking has become significantly more annoying, and the walk when it was colder was unfortunate but bearable.” Wilkes explains that while the circumstances are unfortunate, he does understand the reasoning for the parking lot closure.
Kress Center Parking lot on UWGB Campus, April 4th. Photo by Caleb Miller
While students like Wilkes and Zoelle aren’t overly bothered by the construction happening around campus, other students are. Sarah Hart is a junior at UW-Green Bay and commutes to classes. Before the construction of the main housing parking lot, Hart was able to get a parking space in the Kress Center Parking Lot which allowed for her to park near her classes in Mary Ann Cofrin Hall. Since the on-campus students now park in the Kress Center parking lot, it leaves off-campus and commuter students, 64% of UW-Green Bay’s student body, in a difficult position of needing up to more minutes to get to classes. Hart says that it is “extremely frustrating not to be able to find a spot close to my classes” and that she “almost always” has to park in the Studio Arts parking lot, which is over a ten-minute walk from where her classes are.
Hart made it known that it is difficult for students and visitors to find parking in the Kress Center Parking Lot, but it has also become an area of competitive parking. “I have noticed that people are extremely reckless in the Kress lot,” said Hart. She went on to explain that due to the high competition for parking spots, people are “a lot less cautious and don’t use common courtesy.” Hart stated that she knows that isn’t something the university can control. However, she believes that the reason for the new dynamic of the Kress Parking Lot is due to the construction on campus.
Campus Sweeper (upper) trying to clear the road (lower) to Campus Community Center on April 4th. Photo by Caleb Miller
With the final weeks of classes at UW-Green Bay happening, students only have a few more weeks of going to class while construction is happening. Still, much of the student body is frustrated with how the construction projects have impacted the campus environment.
For any questions about campus safety or parking at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, contact publicsafety@uwgb.edu.