Morgan State, Community Discuss Parking Issues

Neighbors of Morgan State University picketed this week, saying students are hogging parking spaces in restricted residential areas.  Suzanne Collins reports on a meeting between the university president and the community Wednesday.

People who live next to Morgan State University picketed, saying they pay for parking passes but students who don't have been taking most of the spaces.

"The community is outraged," said one resident. 

"Morgan doesn't seem to care," said another.

The protest brought quick results.  Wednesday, community leaders sat down with the new university president for hours and both sides called it productive.

"We were able to identify about 600 underutilized spaces on the campus," said Morgan State University President Dr. David Wilson.

The students will get a letter now telling them to park at the Murphy Fine Arts Center and Northwood Plaza, where spaces remain vacant.

Wilson has one idea he believes will be an incentive for students to park in the MSU Garage: he's going to reduce the daily rate from $4 to $3 a day.

Councilman Robert Curran and Senator Joan Carter-Conway say enforcement will be increased to ticket cars without residential stickers and restrictions along Hillen and Perring Parkway that bar students from parking from 7-9 and 4-6 should be removed.

"Which would allow students to stay there all day instead of moving at 4 in the afternoon to go into the community," Curran said.

Neighborhood leaders were pleased, saying these are great first steps.

"We were heard, which was great.  Some things will not immediately change but we see in the near future, there will be changes," said a resident.

Parking restrictions near Morgan allow two hour parking without a sticker but that policy could become even more restrictive.