Students and faculty at the Russell C. Taylor Health Science Building are facing ongoing parking challenges with limited available spaces, forcing many to park on nearby streets.
Despite designated lots for students, faculty and visitors, overcrowding has made it difficult to find parking, raising concerns about safety and convenience for those in the College of Health Sciences.
With the building backed up against a hill on 1470 E and Medical Center Drive, a growing student population faces finding a convenient parking spot a daily challenge.
The Taylor building holds multiple programs, and the nursing program is looking at alternatives to solve the ongoing parking issue. Three major alternatives being discussed are a shuttle system from campus to the Taylor building, two crosswalks across Medical Center Dr. and a new economy parking lot on the west side of 1470 E St.
For multiple years, parking has been an issue at the Taylor building. Then, the dirt patch located on 1470 E St., where faculty and students relied heavily upon to park in, got quickly overturned by dump trucks and the construction of a hotel.
St. George city controversially approved the hotel expansion in 2024. It wasn’t called controversial because of the limited parking affecting the university, but because of the impact on St. George scenery.
A city council meeting in 2024 said, “The planning commission’s conditions for approval emphasize the importance of maintaining the area’s natural features while accommodating new growth.”
Samantha Hylemon, a senior nursing major from West Jordan and president of the Utah Tech Nursing Association, has been going to nursing department staff meetings as a student representative.
Safety concerns escalated when a construction company began towing student and staff vehicles parked on the dirt lot while large trucks moving through the area created additional hazards. Without designated sidewalks and crosswalks, students walking from the dirt patch to the Taylor building faced the risk of being hit by oncoming traffic.
After construction halted, emails were sent out by Alicia Frank and the nursing department to nursing students voicing concerns and possible solutions.
Hylemon said: “I remember the day those emails came out. I voiced my concern about how they were bringing huge trucks in [to the dirt patch], and how I was worried about students’ safety.”
Alicia Frank, administrative assistant for the nursing department said, “Colleges are working together as a group [to solve the issue].”
One possible solution, proposed by the nursing department, was a shuttle system from the main Utah Tech University campus to the Taylor building. There are multiple complications that would have to be resolved, like budgeting and logistics, but this is a solution that the nursing program is actively working on.
In an email sent out by Frank, she said: “Lawyers from St. George Regional Hospital and Dean Bermudez from the College of Health Sciences have been in ongoing discussions with the City of St. George regarding the installation of a crosswalk across Medical Center Drive in two locations. While the process is underway, a timeline has not yet been confirmed.”
Part of the series of emails included a Google form for students and faculty to share their opinions about the proposed solutions.
Frank said she has felt threatened multiple times by ongoing traffic from having to cross the road on Medical Circle Drive from 1470 E St. Sending out the email was a step toward student safety, hoping little steps, like getting student feedback, will help solve this issue.
In a cohort of 48 students enrolled, a poll done by the nursing department found:
- 46 students have almost been hit crossing the road
- 44 students have almost been hit crossing the road twice
- 40 students have been almost hit crossing the road three or more times
For now, students and faculty are encouraged to voice their opinions and concerns.
“I think they are hearing us now,” Hylemon said. “They are hearing how much of a problem it is, and they’re more worried about [it]. They are worried about student safety.”
