The University completed a feasibility study this summer for building a parking garage to increase available spots and accommodate first-years who wish to have cars on campus, according to Brandeis administrators."If we had a parking garage on campus, then I, nor anyone else, would have an issue with freshmen having cars on campus," said Jean Eddy, the senior vice president for Students and Enrollment.

According to Associate Vice President Dan Feldman, the study evaluated X-lot and G-lot as two possible locations for three different garage models.

"The goal is creating a much more pedestrian environment in the heart of the Brandeis campus... and getting rid of a lot of the little [parking] lots that are scattered across campus," Feldman said.

University President Jehuda Reinharz said that while he is trying to raise money for the garage, he does not know when enough funds will be collected to begin construction.

Reinharz restricted parking to first-years in the fall of 2002 in an attempt to keep the campus more open to pedestrians. He said the construction of the Shapiro Campus Center and the Great Lawn also eliminated 150 previous parking spaces.

"We simply have insufficient space at present to accommodate every car on campus," Reinharz said.

According to Eddy, the decision to restrict parking to first-years also originated from a significant parking crunch. But she said the administration does not plan to impose parking restrictions on other classes in the future.

"We certainly didn't feel that we had any recourse but to restrict some people from parking," Eddy said. "It's not uncommon on many college campuses for freshmen to not be allowed to have cars on campus."

Eddy said students favored a more attractive campus over increasing parking spaces when the plan for beautifying the campus was presented a few years ago in an open forum.

When asked if she had surveyed students recently whether they would prefer more green space or more parking, Eddy said, "I have not had the forum to ask them directly, but you are going to have a different conversation when you talk about parking versus green space."

Eddy said that places like the Great Lawn used to be parking lots, and in the past, "It was pretty clear that students were looking for that [places to hang out], and looking for the campus to be prettier."

Eddy said first-years can appeal the parking policy via a special committee composed of herself, Director of Admissions Deena Whitfield and Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan. She said there must be a compelling reason for an appeal to be granted - like a medical disability.

Whitfield said about a dozen parking waiver requests were made last year about and half of them were granted.

Despite the parking restriction, Eddy admitted that there were still significant problems with parking on campus.

"The parking crunch is getting worse," Eddy said. "More students are bringing cars."

Both Reinharz and Eddy say that there are no further plans restrict parking on campus.

"I've not been part of any more conversation about restricting cars on campus for sophomores," Eddy said. "That has not been under consideration.