Apartments struggle with parking

Finding parking anywhere in Chapel Hill can be a pain.

But for many University students who live off campus, the problem does not end when they go home, as their apartment complexes do not provide sufficient parking for all residents.

Chapel Ridge Apartments, located on Legacy Terrace, is just one complex that has been experiencing a parking crunch.

The complex's management sent an e-mail to residents at the beginning of this month about the possibility of implementing reserved parking to help curb the problem.

But students balked at the idea. Because parking was not included in their leases, residents would have to pay to have the spots reserved.

"I think it is pretty sad that they didn't make a parking spot for each bedroom that they have," said junior Magdalena Jenc, a resident of Chapel Ridge. "It's too much of a hassle. If you come home past 11, you'll either have to park far away or on the grass."

Junior Anna Martin, a Chapel Ridge resident, agreed. "The whole situation made me incredibly angry."

In response to the e-mail, residents decided to circulate a petition, Martin said.

The complex's management then decided to forego the idea.

Kathy Grim, vice president of marketing for College Park Communities, the corporation that owns Chapel Ridge, said parking is "first come, first serve."

"We apologize to the residents for any inconveniences, and we are listening to the students' complaints in hopes of forming a solution," she said.

No alternative solutions have been found yet.

Chapel Ridge is not the only apartment complex facing parking difficulties.

Deborah Zombar, manager of Stratford Hills Apartments on Bolinwood Drive, said the community has tried to alleviate its problems by including parking permits with each resident's lease.

But parking spots are not assigned, so residents must depend on a first-come, first-serve system, Zombar said.

"The only time that we experience any problems or difficulties with parking is when residents decide to have parties, and their visitors park in the apartment parking lots," she said.

Zombar said cars parked at the complex without a permit will be towed. Public parking for visitors is provided on the streets next to the apartments.

Emerald Forest Apartments in Durham also has parking woes. Parking spaces are allocated to residents according to the number of bedrooms they have. But residents have not been following the rules.

"It is not fair to other residents when some residents utilize more than their allotted spaces, especially in an immediate parking space," said Suzi Jaikaran, assistant manager of Emerald Forest.

If residents have visitors, she suggested, they should simply park across the street. "We are considering adopting permit parking if the problem persists."

Not all area apartment complexes are experiencing parking issues.

Sharita Taylor, assistant manager of Kingswood Apartments, located off of N.C. 54 Bypass, said that parking there is unassigned. But she has not received any complaints nor had any trouble with visitors over parking. "We have plenty of parking," she said.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.