Employees worried about parking safety

BEE CAVE, Texas (KXAN) - The success of the Hill Country Galleria is causing some growing pains when it comes to parking. Some employees say the parking policy meant to be a convenience for customers is making them feel unsafe.

Jessica Murray is a hairstylist who works at a salon in the Galleria and leaves work most nights in the dark.

"I'm just nervously walking with my hand on my cellphone and another hand in my purse with my keys just trying to keep a lookout," said Murray of walking to her car. "I've been told all those things that young women who are walking alone at night have to do and I'm paranoid."

She said it's worse now that Galleria management started to enforce a long-time policy about employee parking which requires them to park far away from the mall in the last rows or in parking garages.

"Most of us are young women who have to leave here at all different times at night so sometimes you've got no one to walk with you to and from your car late at night," said Murray.

But Adrian Overstreet, one of the owners of the Galleria, said the success of the mall, now close to 95 percent occupied with more than 100 stores and restaurants, means the 5,000 parking spaces are often full of customers.

"Either a customer can park in front of a store or an employee can park in front of a store and like every mall in America that I know of, the employees get the bad parking and the customers get the good parking," said Overstreet.

He said the policy is not meant to make employees feel unsafe and points out that employees and customers can request a security escort any time of the day or night.

"I have asked about that and called and waited for 15 minutes before I finally just gave up and walked to my car anyway because I'm off work and I just want to go home," said Murray.

Overstreet said no one had complained about security to management.

"If they did, we would take steps to fix it," he said.

The policy has been in place for years, but Overstreet said management is more strictly enforcing it as the holiday shopping season ramps up. Businesses will first be warned and then fined if their employees do not follow the rules.

Murray said some female employees have been on edge since an attack and sexual assault of a woman at a shopping complex across State Highway 71 from the Hill Country Galleria. The suspect in that crime has not been caught.