University readies for commencement traffic
In terms of crowd size, Rutger’s 249th anniversary commencement is bigger than football games because the stadium will fill about six to 8,000 students plus their families and guests, said W. Geoff Smith, manager of special events and programs at the University's Office of the Secretary.
“Not only is the stadium filled with guests, but also with students, so it’s a lot of people to move around in a short amount of time," he said.
With more than 40,000 people expected on the New Brunswick campus for University commencement at High Point Solutions Stadium on Busch campus May 17, some may have noticed the commencement parking registration reminders flickering on each bus stop between bus time arrivals.
Jack Molenaar, director of Department of Transportation Services, said the department limits how many people can park per campus on commencement day.
“Before, we encouraged people to park in certain places, but no one followed … After we created the permit system, we didn’t have any traffic," he said. "It was like night and day."
After parking in assigned parking spots, guests will climb onto buses and be shuttled over the stadium, similar to busing system on home football games, Molenaar said.
While registering, the online system will automatically assign a parking location based on the “best possible parking location” for the event and available parking spaces. Students may also have the option to choose another parking area, if available, according to the University Commencement Parking Guidelines website.
Graduating students will receive parking spots on a first-come, first-served basis and must register to receive up to two free parking hangtags for themselves and their families or guests.
Regular parking permits issued by Rutgers Department of Transportation Services for use during the year will not be valid for parking on campuses in Piscataway and New Brunswick on commencement day.
Registration period for free parking hangtags ends on April 19, 2015, at midnight and additional hang tags may be purchased by students and/or their guests for $5 beginning on April 20, according to the website.
Molenaar said the money students and families spend for parking passes after the free passes goes toward commencement.
Since traffic volume will most likely be heavy, the department recommends that students and guests carpool or consider taking public transportation to campus, according to the website.
After parking on the respective campus, students, families and guests can expect to take a shuttle service to and from parking lots on Busch Campus, the College Avenue Campus and Livingston Campus every three to five minutes beginning at 8 a.m. and until that evening, according to the website.
There will not be any curbside drop-off available, so moderate walking will be involved to get to the stadium and to seating.
Parking for guests with special needs and disabled guests are also available also by a first-come first-serve basis, according to the website. Interested guests can attain one by registering online for a special University hangtag to have in addition to government-issued handicapped parking placards.
Kathy Idrissi, administrative assistant at the Office of the Secretary of the University said after guests register online, she personally calls each person to go over where parking is located, what they can expect and how much they may have to walk.
Idrissi said she lets them know that they can bring a wheel chair or a walker.
“I want them to feel comfortable about the fact that there is walking involved,” she said.
Distributing special needs parking spots for guests who have special needs or are handicapped is done so that the guests can park as close to the stadium as possible and their enjoyment and experience will also be heightened, Smith said.
He said for the past few years that University Commencement has been at High Point Solutions Stadium, parking registration has been neatly organized through online registration and with great consideration for guests with special needs.
From the Office of the Secretary of the University’s point of view, Smith said there is a large amount of people coming into campus for commencement and it is important to make the car and people traffic as seamless as possible.
“This parking plan does that,” Smith said.
