Less than a month after the new first-year parking lot opened by the Francis Center, freshmen are raising concerns about their safety walking to and from the Gateway lot.

Elon freshman Andy Bowman works at the Publix grocery store in Burlington, around a 10-minute drive from campus. Bowman said that as a manager, he usually gets off of work at 11:15 p.m. After his shift is over, Bowman drives back to campus and then walks from the first-year parking lot back to his dorm in Colonnades — totaling a 30-minute walk. Bowman said that he usually gets back to his dorm at 12:30 a.m.

“It’s just a matter of safety as well, walking in the dark all the way back doesn’t feel the safest,” Bowman said.

Bowman said he contacted Elon Campus Safety and Police to see if he could get his first-year parking pass switched to a Colonnades pass. He called Elon police and asked for alternative solutions.

“I’m leaving campus every single day and I’m doing that walk, and I’m getting back late,” Bowman said. “The lady offered the Elon shuttle, which does not run by the time I get back.”

The Elon Express now stops at the first-year parking lot, but only runs from Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Chief of Campus Safety and Police Joe LeMire said that Elon police offer E-rides. Students can call the police department and ask for a ride from the first-year lot back to their dorm, to avoid walking at night.

Megan Walsh | Elon News Network
Map of on-campus neighborhoods freshman students often live in. Danieley — the closest to Gateway parking lot — is about a 0.6 mile walk. Historic Neighborhood is about 1.4 miles away from Gateway, according to walking route estimates from Google Maps.

Like Bowman, freshman Jack Martin said the walk from his dorm to the parking lot takes him 25 minutes.

“It’s like I’m spending probably more time walking to my car than I actually am driving,” Martin said. “So that part is frustrating.”

Martin said that after his club hockey practices, the walk back from the parking lot to his dorm in the East Neighborhood raised concerns for his safety. Martin debated calling a car service back to his dorm. East Neighborhood has its own parking lot, but is unusable to first-year students.

“I’ve certainly seen people that don’t look the friendliest,” Martin said. “Especially at that time of night too — it is a little concerning.”

Martin suggested that students walking back late do not walk alone, or get a bicycle or scooter to get from the lot to their dorms quickly.