Parking debacle from last night

[Rondogg]

My buddy went to the game last night. He parked in a big open lot. People parked there for the game because it was open and empty. He said there was no attendant and no visible signs saying you couldn't park there. He (with his wife and kids) and about 50 other people came out of the game to find their cars towed (or being towed). It was dark and cold and he had no way to get to the tow company to get his car. Again, he is with his wife and kids in the dark cold on a school night. His wife called the department of Athletics and was told that they had heard from a lot of people, were outraged and are looking into it.

Anyone else hear about this?

 

[suzyq]

My buddy went to the game last night. He parked in a big open lot. People parked there for the game because it was open and empty. He said there was no attendant and no visible signs saying you couldn't park there. He (with his wife and kids) and about 50 other people came out of the game to find their cars towed (or being towed). It was dark and cold and he had no way to get to the tow company to get his car. Again, he is with his wife and kids in the dark cold on a school night. His wife called the department of Athletics and was told that they had heard from a lot of people, were outraged and are looking into it.

Anyone else hear about this?

http://www.uconnhuskies.com/facilities/0910-gampel-a-to-z.html

Parking - Parking for basketball games in Gampel Pavilion is available for $8.00 in the North 7 South Parking Garages and several surface parking lots (Employee Lot 8 and Student Lot Y, behind McMahon; Lot 9 and Student Lot X, west of the North Garage). These lots will be posted to indicate the event parking restrictions. These areas are reserved for Gampel event attendees beginning at 3:30pm for night games and three hours before the start of day games. Vehicles violating these signs are subject to ticketing and/or towing. For information about designated lots, call Parking services at (860) 486-4930. For a map of parking lots please go to the University of Connecticut Parking Services Map

 

[bazzdog]

that's a great way to get more people to games-freakin ridiculous

 

[art4life]

Wow - I was at the game last night & this is the first I've heard of this.
Any idea what lot this was?

 

[hasheemthedream]

that's a great way to get more people to games-freakin ridiculous

Got to make up for lost ticket revenue somehow..........Blame the Rock Star

 

[Waquoit]

It's no debacle, it's business as usual. They do it all the time there. That's a private lot (Farmer Brown's). It has a sign at the entrance that says Permit Parking only, plus it was pitch dark in the lot which should have been a tip-off. They wait until just before game time before they start towing. It's called free enterprise. Why does your buddy hate America?

 

[phillionaire]

it shouldn't have been too hard to find parking in the student lots. they're open after 5 pm for anyone, and with it still being winter break, they would have been pretty empty.

 

[CL82]

I park in the parking deck and never have had a problem, for what it is worth.

 

[UConnErik]

The tow trucks were gathering in the sudent commuter lot down past Huskies at 6:45. When my son and I were walking through Farmer Browns, guys with flashlights were looking for permits on parked cars. You know what happened next.

A good sized group of unhappy people in Farmer Browns after the game. Glad I wasn't one of them.

 

[spoop]

As suzyq mentioned, you have to pay to park in resident/commuter/employee lots near Gampel. Those lots are open to non-permit holders at 4 or 5 on weekdays and all the time on the weekends when there isn't a basketball game, and the farther lots are still open on gamedays. If you don't mind walking a bit of a distance, I would suggest F lot or I lot. D lot too, but that one tends to fill up. It's not even big enough for all the students that need to park there. Here's the map.

 

[Coach McGurk]

The tow trucks were gathering in the sudent commuter lot down past Huskies at 6:45. When my son and I were walking through Farmer Browns, guys with flashlights were looking for permits on parked cars. You know what happened next.

A good sized group of unhappy people in Farmer Browns after the game. Glad I wasn't one of them.

Glad it wasn't Saturday Night of Spring Weekend 1998......there were LOTS of angry people in farmer Browns that night (and lots of cops and dogs in x-lot).
Can anyone say riot?

 

[8893]

Ah, so great to see some traditions still intact. They've been towing from Farmer Brown's lot since I was a student some 25+ years ago.

For many years I had a few "secret," illegal spots on campus for Gampel games, but with increased construction, changes in the traffic flow, and just paying better attention they finally found or built over all of them. I usually just use the pay lots now.

 

[kibblesnbits]

It's UConn's fault for not having addressed this. If this is a known problem for fans that aren't familiar with the process they should put up signs saying indicating that there is no event parking in that lot. Obviously the "fine folks" at LAZ are making no significant effort to prevent it - probably because they are getting some of the towing fees. If UConn is the traffic authority for that road they may be able to put it in the easement that is provided for communities to post traffic signs (usually about 10 feet into the property). If not they could probably do it with permanent or portable signs at the approach. LAZ really couldn't argue much because supposedly they don't want fans parking there so it would be a service to them (in reality they'll be pissed because towing is probably a good money maker).

New fans that have their cars towed are unlikely to come back so UConn should do this for customer service reasons if not because it is the right thing to do.