By Zak Zeinert, Student Reporter

Parking and tight traffic pose an inconvenience to visitors, students and the ACU Police Department during Sing Song weekend.

As thousands gather at ACU for Sing Song, limited parking and tense traffic will be a concern for the ACU PD. For most of the weekend, 10-12 officers, as well as 10 additional student workers, will be on duty to help ease the congestion.

Jimmy Ellison, chief of the ACU Police Department, said the weekend of Sing Song presents many parking and overall staffing challenges to the ACU PD. Along with Sing Song, the week will attract numbers for the President’s Circle Dinner, Board of Trustees meetings and sporting events.

“Sing Song weekend is by far the biggest demand weekend for our services,” Ellison said.

Because of ongoing construction of the Hunter Welcome Center, parking will be even more scarce than usual. Spillover parking will be located along Campus Court and on various side streets across from campus. Ellison said visitors are often told to park in the vacant fields across from Crutcher Scott Field and Wells Field on the north side of Ambler. However, because of increased volume along Ambler in the last two years, these fields will only be used as a last resort.

To help ease congestion, Ellison suggests students and families walk to campus if they live close enough.

“Everyone just needs to expect and plan for congestion and delays, obey all barricade placements, and follow any instructions given by police officers or other barricade workers.” Ellison said.

While parking is an inconvenience to some visitors, it is an annoyance to students living on campus. Tyler Lewis, sophomore finance and accounting major from Spring, has been coming to Sing Song since he was a little kid.

“I never really noticed the parking until I became a student. It really stinks for us because all of our parking spots get taken.”