One of the most common complaints that I hear about our university from other students is that our parking situation, to put it mildly, is less than ideal. 

There aren’t enough parking spaces, especially around extremely busy areas like the library or the Russell Union, and even if you do manage to find a spot, you’re always susceptible to a run-in with the widely respected officers of Parking and Transportation. 

They have a sworn duty to protect and to serve, and they take their job very seriously. 

If it weren’t for them, how would we stop people from parking in 30 minute parking zones for 45 minutes at a time? 

There’s absolutely nothing worse than getting out of a class that has a mandatory attendance policy, with a teacher whose lecture is about as entertaining as watching paint dry, and then spotting a bright yellow envelope on your windshield as you make your way through the parking lot. 

Even if we haven’t directly experienced the frustration of having to deal with a ticket for committing the crime of trying to get to class on time, we can at least feel the anger vicariously through our friends.

I spoke to a few different students about some of these aforementioned issues.

Here’s what they had to say. 

Natalia Atlow

Fashion Merchandising major

Freshman

Do you think it’s fair that Parking & Transportation gets to issue tickets for each violation and eventually even put a boot on a car? 

Sort of, but maybe not to that extreme. I understand that people shouldn’t be parking where they’re not supposed to be, but I certainly don’t want my car to be booted. 

Tam Vo

Pre-Pharmacy 

Sophomore

Are there enough parking spaces or do we need to find a way to better accommodate students?

There are, but there should be more of a focus on putting the parking spaces in one specific area.

Sara Simpson

Business Management major

Junior

How do you think the University can work to take care of students that are trying to find parking at or near the library during busy times? 

Either by increasing the size of the parking lot or maybe allowing students to park wherever they’d like to for a few hours after classes are over for the day. 

Moises Patlan

Justice Studies major 

Sophomore 

How would you like to see the University go about expanding parking opportunities?

I think they could add one or two new parking lots and then expand on some of the lots that we already have.