Liberty begins construction on a South Campus parking lot

• Liberty hopes that construction on the parking lot at the South Campus recreational fields is completed by mid-November.

Tailgating at South Campus may soon use actual tailgates.

The recreational fields on South Campus have been paved over to make way for additional parking, generating protest among students.

According to Daniel Deter, vice president of Major Construction, the former fields will be converted into a parking lot by the end of October. If weather becomes a problem, the lot should be completed by mid-November.

Deter said the lot will provide about 380 parking spots. Although a few of those will be reserved, more than 300 parking spots will be for students.

Deter said that President Jerry Falwell came up with the project and location to provide more parking for students. In addition, Falwell said the university will be creating new fields near Commons IV.

“New fields are being added where (Commons IV) and the new dining hall will eventually be built and those fields are much larger than the ones that they’re taking away to add parking,” Falwell said.

However, some students expressed concern that the parking plan takes away recreational space.

Peter Christofides, a sophomore, started a petition to end construction on the fields. He worked with a senator in the Student Government Association, Jakob Page, to present the petition to SGA. Christofides collected 419 signatures on his petition.

“Personally, I enjoy the fields, and I know many students who did,” Christofides said.

Christofides also shared memories students have of the fields, including tailgates before home football games.

“Where else on campus can you get a group of guys or a group of girls together to play a pick-up game?” Christofides said. “It’s bro-sis bonding time.”

He said he realizes parking is an issue, but he would prefer a parking garage in the Zone 4 parking lot or somewhere else.

“I understand why they’re doing it, but they went about it in the wrong way in my opinion,” Christofides said. “It felt like the students didn’t have a say in what happened to the field.”

Christofides also expressed concern about the overall appearance of the campus.

“Not only did I want to keep our fields, but I didn’t want to see our campus as a whole turned into parking,” Christofides said.

Deter says that these decisions require balance.

“I would say that when we make decisions like this, we try to take away and give back what we can,” Deter said.

Deter said the bridge being built between South Campus and East Campus will be finished around the same time as the parking lot, and workers are also re-routing Liberty Mountain Drive. Deter said the three construction projects combined will give students an easier route to leave campus from the southern end.

Deter said this will ease some of the traffic at the intersections across campus.

Additionally, Deter said a new parking lot on South Campus would be safer and more convenient for students.

He said that the administration is also concerned about the campus’ appearance and the students’ satisfaction.

“We hear when the students say they need green areas,” Deter said.

He outlined several plans for green areas, including a space near Commons III along the campus walk as well as a space for hammocks near Commons III.

Deter also pointed out that the intermural field on South Campus remains.

“The field gets used for more than just band practice,” Deter said. “It’s an intermural field for students.”

Deter acknowledged that letting go of the other recreational fields was hard for students.

“With any gain there is always a little bit of pain,” Deter said.