Paid Parking On Music Row Impacts Belmont Students

Parking sign next to the 34 Music Square E. facility. (Olivia Abernathy)

The Nashville Department of Transportation added paid parking to Music Row, impacting Belmont students who have classes at the 34 Music Square E. facility. 

“I spend a lot of money already to go to this school. To have to pay extra to use facilities that should be free to me is not very appealing,” said Piper Lee, a junior audio engineering technology major who uses the Music Square East facility. 

Sophomore Levi Turner agrees with Lee. As a songwriting major, he has classes twice a week at the Music Square East facility. 

“I feel like it's a little weird to have parking you have to pay for when I'm already paying for the class itself,” said Turner. 

The Music Square East facility includes a parking lot in the back that is free for Belmont students. However, construction crews will soon excavate the lot to construct a new building, which will remove any access to free parking for students. 

“Once we break ground on the 18 Music Circle S. building, we will be providing shuttle service to address parking needs,” said Michael Blake, director of facilities and equipment.

Belmont student parking behind the Music Square East facility. This parking lot will soon be excavated to make way for a new construction project. (Olivia Abernathy)

Blake said that Belmont is still finalizing details for class operations during construction. 

Nashville is charging $1 per hour for parking on Music Row, in addition to credit card convenience fees. 

However, Lee and Turner said they think that even this small amount will deter students from using Belmont’s facilities. 

“There are students I know that don't have jobs and are looking for jobs. Like, even paying a dollar an hour is still taking money out of an account that’s not getting any money. So, I think it's going to start deterring people from going there, which is not what Belmont wants,” said Lee. 

Turner said that this will affect him personally. He works to pay for his own tuition, so this will add one more cost to his already tight budget. 

However, Blake said that Belmont remains committed to helping students. 

“Our priority is to minimize disruption to students' educational experience as we plan for this construction phase, which will ultimately enhance both the facilities and student experience at Music Row,” said Blake. 

NDOT did not respond to a request for comment. 

This story was written by Olivia Abernathy.