- About Western Carolina
- Campus Operations and Finance
- Parking Operations
- Special Event Parking
- Special Event Planning
Special Event Planning
Planning an event? We are happy to assist you.
Our number one priority is the safety of our guests and the campus community. We also share the desire for events to be as pleasant as possible for everyone involved. Together, Police and the Parking and Transportation Department can help create a successful parking, traffic, and safety plan. Attending a special event might be our guest’s first impression of campus, and our most successful events are those where our guests feel welcome the moment they arrive.
We recommend that event planners start by creating a communications piece. We strongly encourage communication of all directions, entry points, and parking availability throughout the marketing of the event. Here we offer some helpful tips to make sure each experience a positive one.
REQUEST SPECIAL EVENT TRANSPORTATION
Event Planners may use a custom map with locations, parking lots, and travel routes and this should be included with all marketing materials. This is a tremendous help as many visitors are not familiar with our campus.
If a lot has been blocked off for your event, a special parking permit can be created
to display on the dashboard. Planners may email special parking permits to guests
prior to the event. This eliminates the need to question event participants for entry
to a reserved lot or in larger events direct them to a specific area. Without these
permits, staff cannot identify participants which can cause delays and potential safety
issues in any resulting traffic backup.
Temporary signs are recommended to help guests navigate campus and can help alleviate
confusion after arrival.
If it is anticipated that a large number of per-sons with special needs are attending, the accommodations made for their partic-ipation should be a priority in communications and planning. For events at the Ramsey Center, the circle off of Forest Hills Drive is the preferred location for drop off and pick up of persons with disabilities. For other areas of the campus, we have the required appropriate number of reserved handicapped parking for day to day operations. Pickups/and drop offs on campus streets during events is not allowed as it creates significant traffic and safety issues.
K thru 12 Activity buses do not share the same legal protections as a typical school bus. These buses are not equipped with stop arms, they are a different color and do not have flashing red lights. Drivers are not obligated to stop while an Activity Bus is loading/unloading. Because of this, Activity Buses should not unload passengers on streets and roads within the Campus. Parking and Transportation will designate a safe location out of traffic, usually a parking lot or other area designed to accommodate safe passenger unloading such as the Ramsey Circle or Balsam Residence Hall.
Event Planners should provide as much lead time as possible when requesting special event assistance so that the parking logistics for your event can be scheduled and, if necessary, communicated to the remainder of the campus community. We request at least a one week lead time for small requests and at least 3 weeks lead time for larger events. We often have more than one event occurring on campus and these lead times are necessary so that re-sources can be allocated.
If you require the services of a parking officer to monitor a lot or direct traffic the cost is $20 per hour for each officer. Sworn Police Officers are $30 per hour for each officer. Lead times are especially important when an event requires Parking/Police staffing. The demand for these services is significant and arrangements must be made so that our primary job duties are not affected. Off-duty officers are the primary source of our staffing for special events. Requests for officers are subject to availability.
