By Heather Leiphart, Student Reporter
“Organized chaos” is how Jimmy Ellison, chief of the ACU Police Department, describes parking and traffic conditions during Sing Song each year. The police department has made plans for the upcoming events with additional staff, traffic control and parking regulations.
“We think our plan manages everything as best it can and we have appropriate levels of attention, but it is organized chaos, and everyone just needs to deal with it and be patient,” Ellison said. “There’s no way our parking system is built to sustain that much pressure in that short amount of time.”
Sing Song is not the only major event the ACU Police will oversee this weekend. In addition, the President’s Circle Dinner and the annual board of trustees meeting will take place Saturday. These events require the closure of the Teague Special Events Center parking lot and half of the Big Purple parking lot for attendees, Ellison said.
In order to accommodate the heavy influx of traffic, the ACU Police will close parking lots that fill to capacity. They will direct the traffic elsewhere, so guests will not waste time searching for a nonexistent space. Ellison predicts the new Bob and Shirley Hunter Welcome Center parking lot will help alleviate parking congestion this year.
If traffic permits, the ACU Police plan to allow passenger drop-off stations at the Gibson Physical Education Building and the north side of Moody Coliseum.
Often, guests are so focused on parking near Moody that the south side of campus is not fully utilized, Ellison said. Parking lots around Nelson, Gardner and Sikes halls and the University Church are often overlooked, and guests would spend less time walking from these locations than searching for closer parking. Leaving campus from these locations after performances also would be less chaotic, he said.
“For students, parking isn’t as much of an issue because many live on campus,” said Vanessa Butler, sophomore art education major from Longview. “It’s just easier to walk everywhere instead of trying to search for a parking spot.”
Ellison asks guests to plan ahead for delays, expect to see officers directing traffic and understand that they may have to walk a fair distance.
“We have a lot of guests and dignitaries that come to our campus for this one weekend every year, so we ask that students, faculty and staff be polite, courteous and patient,” Ellison said. “This a busy time, but also a great time for ACU to shine.”
