The students and faculty members at The University of Memphis who have complained about parking or lack thereof are apparently no longer alone.
Several residents living on Midland Avenue have voiced complaints to The Daily Helmsman and the dean of students at The U of M in regards to student vehicles blocking driveways at residential homes along the street.
“It is often difficult getting in and out of our driveways,” said Mary Jungklas, who owns a residence on Midland Avenue, which runs west from Patterson Avenue.
The residents said the problem is usually at its peak during the most active student hours, which are typically from 9 a.m. to noon, when parking availability is at its lowest and students often park their vehicles hastily to avoid being late to class.
While some residents on Midland Avenue said they have no problems with students parking on the street, many said the “curbside parkers” seem to have increased in recent years, and the residents are now threatening to have vehicles that obstruct driveways towed.
“Sometimes, I can’t get in and out (of the driveway),” said one resident, who wished to remain anonymous. “I have lived in this house for 75 years and this is the worst I have ever seen it.”
The resident does not mind students parking their cars on the street.
“I just wish they would give us about two feet on each side of the driveway so we can pull out our cars,” the resident said. “Right now, if I turn my car either left or right, I will hit the other cars.”
Residents on Midland Avenue are not the only people affected by students and faculty blocking driveways.
TroyAnn Poulopoulos, director of River’s Edge, a Christian campus ministry on Midland Avenue, said parking violations and citations along the street seem to be on the rise.
“There is a continuing problem with people parking in our parking lots and the no parking zones in front of the building,” Poulopoulos said. “We see about five or six cars get towed a week and as many as 20 tickets given out.”
Poulopoulos said that many students and faculty who park on the street choose to do so because the street is closer to their classes than either of the major parking lots.
“People sometimes get sloppy and lazy and want to park close to campus,” Poulopoulos said. “Lately it has become a pattern and habit of not driving responsibly.”
