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New Housing Options May Cause Parking Problems

New Housing Options May Cause Parking Problems

By Eric Geller

When the 16 Bexley Apartments are torn down to make way for additional North Campus Apartments (NCAs), the parking lot that has served so many students will go with it.

Though there will eventually be some parking near the new NCAs and the Bexley Hall parking lot will remain, there are no proposed plans to replace the current Bexley parking lot, according to Director of Facilities Planning Tom Lepley. There will, however, be a few handicapped parking spots available nearby, as the goal of the NCA renovation project is to allow handicapped accessible housing, according to Lepley.

It was important [to the construction planners] to have more green space, North Campus Assistant Director of Housing and Residential Life Lisa Train said. The College hopes to establish the apartments as little communities with plentiful green space, making them feel more like homes and less like college residence halls.

Administrators hope students will choose to walk or ride bicycles as alternatives to driving. For students with cars who will live on North Campus in the fall, Train suggested the New Apartments parking lot, which has 33 spaces, or the lot near Watson Residence Hall. Overall, administrators intend to encourage Kenyons image as a walking campus.

In addition to limiting parking, the elimination of the Bexley Apartments will also reduce the number of apartments available to juniors, according to Train. The Bexley Apartments, which were open to both juniors and seniors, will be replaced by NCAs, which, due to high demand, will likely house only seniors. If seniors do not fill [the NCAs], then we would have to open [them] to juniors. However, the likelihood of that happening is almost nil, Train said.

Senior-only housing next year will also likely include the Morgan, Taft and Acland Apartments.

Its going to be tight for students, Train said. Luckily, were a small campus, and its not that far of a hike.

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