While it is a commonly known fact at SMSU that the gravel portion of the BA/PE gravel lot north of Sweetland Hall closes daily after 4:30p.m., it is not very well known why.

The reason for the nightly closure involves a bit of SMSU history. Back when Dr. David C. Danahar was president at the university, he gave the gravel lot to the athletics department. Director of Public Safety, Michael Munford, worked with the athletics department to try and find a way to put the lot to good use.

“We decided to let people park [in the gravel lot] from eight to four daily, but decided they must be gone by four P.M. to accommodate events,” Munford said. “We thought it would be easier instead of attempting to clear the lot on a per-event basis.”

The system started out with a rocky success rate, but works pretty well today. Initially, there were 10 to 15 tickets issued a week for people parking in the lot after hours. The number of tickets quickly tapered off, and tickets for parking in the lot today are rare. Over Hawaiian night only one ticket was issued for the BA/PE lot, and the owner of the car was not a student.

Public Safety thinks the system works quite well, so there is very little chance of the rules on the gravel lot changing. There is an appeals committee for tickets issued in the lot, but they are generally upheld unless there are special circumstances.

“We need to enforce the lot, but are still trying to give the community time to use the gravel lot.” Munford said. “If we cleared the lot only when there was an event, you’d be getting e-mails constantly. We did it in a way that inconveniences the community the least.”