As some of you may have noticed this past Sunday, construction to install two parking gates has begun in our parking lot. We know you might have questions about why and how this decision was made; please consult the FAQ below for more information.
Why are we installing these?
Our first priorities in stewarding our parking lot are to make sure the congregation has access to the church and that we are honoring our commitments and partnerships to our neighbor organizations that use our parking lot. Some spots in our parking lot are reserved for Museum School staff, some are reserved for families being helped by Meltrotter Ministries, and others are used by local organizations.
On a regular basis, cars with no affiliation to Westminster or these groups park in our lot. This creates two problems: lack of access for those who need parking spaces; and effort on the part of staff to sticker cars and talk to the drivers in violation of our no parking signs—and potentially tow cars that are in violation of our parking policy. For church events like funerals, we have heard frustration when the parking lot is full of cars and those attending cannot park. Given the range of ages and abilities in our congregation, we also want to make sure parking spaces are open for those who need to park close to the church building.
The parking gates will give us more flexibility, as they can be programmed to remain open or closed. This allows us flexibility as we live into how to best allow access to the parking lot as we need to: when we have events and when we know people are more likely to park in our lot without cause. Gates will remain open outside of regular church hours and on the weekends. A call box will be available at the gate to communicate with office staff and be let in as needed. The gates will also operate through card access and security codes provided to staff and members.
Who made this decision?
Discussion of this topic began in the Facilities Committee and was brought to both the Trustees and Session. Each group deliberated over the topic and discussed it at length. Since 2017, study and planning of the topic has taken place between these groups.
How does this live into our mission to be inclusive?
Unfortunately, we do not have enough space in our parking lot to simultaneously give free parking to those served by the food pantry, members, church staff, WCDC staff, neighbors we have commitments to, and those who park in our lot without affiliation to the church or organizations we work with. We need to honor our commitments to the church and our neighbors, which the parking gates will allow us to do.
If you have further questions, please reach out to our Trustee President Stu Atwater at trusteepresident@wpcgr.org, Facilities Manager Brad Hambelton at bradh@wpcgr.org or 616-717-5536, or the Facilities Committee at facilities@wpcgr.org.