Bobcat gates raised by popular demand

Traffic gates that were raised at Bobcat Village due to student requests have also generated the concern of some students.

When residents at Bobcat Village expressed concerns over long lines and other traffic gate-related problems in lower lots, GCSU’s Auxiliary Services decided to raise the gate until fall semester.

“With long lines, people’s cards not working, and the gates being broken, I think it’s more convenient to not have to stop,” senior Dustin Silvers said.

Student Emily Demers said the gates are particularly annoying on rainy days.

“When it is raining and the gates are down, you have to roll down your window and get your arm and the inside of your car wet to swipe your card,” Demers said. “With the gate up all the time you stay dry.”

Early childhood education major Whitney Fields said she sees no purpose for the gates, even when they were down.

“Even when the gates were down, the gates or cards didn’t work half the time and caused a big traffic build-up,” Fields said. “People also still drove up on the curbs all the time to get in. The right side was roped off, but people still cut through on the left side.”

Director of Auxiliary Services Kyle Cullars and Marketing Manager of Auxiliary Services Mike Haun said they heard similar student concerns and immediately raised the gates.

“The gate was opened in response to student demand,” Cullars said. “We wanted people to know that we opened it up intentionally because of complaints about it.”

The gate being opened at Bobcat Village also benefits those who make frequent visits to see friends there.

“I like it being open, because I can just drive back and see my friends instead of having to walk all the way,” sophomore Bridgette Sowers said.

According to Public Safety, non-GCSU students must still use the visitor lot. A GCSU parking permit is required to park beyond the Bobcat gates to avoid being ticketed. Sowers said she is somewhat concerned about possible security issues with people being able to get in without an escort, and possibly damaging property.

Cullars said he does not see any security issues with this change because the gates were merely there to protect resident parking spaces and not to actually protect residents or the facilities.

“The system at West Campus is an offline system and is not part of our online Bobcat Card system,” Cullars said. “It does not keep track of who is going in and out when cards are swiped.”

Cullars also said that even when the gate is down, it does not make Bobcat Village anymore secure in keeping pedestrians or cars out because someone could easily walk past it or drive through it.

Many students said they agree on this issue, and that the gate really did not offer any protection or security.

“I don’t think the gates do anything,” English major Danielle Brantley said. “It’s not really a big security feature; someone could easily get through it.”

Brantley’s only real concern was that the gates look awkward when they are not being used.

“It seems weird to have something there that looks broken,” Brantley said.

Cullars and Haun said they are open to listening to any concerns or comments students have for the gates being up or down. Their goal is merely to respond to student demand and make the GC&SU experience better.

“This office exists for that very reason,” Cullars said. “When students have issues, ideas or suggestions, they can come to us and say, ‘Hey, this needs to be addressed. Can you do it?’ ”

Haun said that every student’s opinion matters, but in the end Auxiliary Services has to act for the greater good.

Cullars said that, besides the gates, the only complaint about the Bobcat Village parking lot he has heard from students is that there is only one entrance.

“That is a problem that needs to be addressed,” Cullars said. “I think(it) will be addressed by putting in a second gate.”

Auxiliary Services submitted a proposal last week to GCSU President Dr. Dorothy Leland, suggesting that a second gate be added next to the clubhouse and the new apartments in order to alleviate traffic at the other gate. Upon approval, the new gate would be in place as early as this fall.

“A second gate will open up both ends and make it more convenient,” Cullars said.

Auxiliary Services currently plans to leave the gate open until fall semester unless complaints about the gates being up start coming in.

“Next fall we plan to activate those gates again because we have a whole new parking plan,” Cullars said. “But as of now, the student with the complaint was exactly right- that gate served no purpose.”

For more information or to voice concerns, contact Mike Haun at (478) 445-8295 or by E-mail at michael.haun@gcsu.edu.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 3 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry