Sept. 1, 2014
Kyle Guthrie
[email protected]
Despite a new parking system and a new parking garage, students are still fighting the persistent parking issue on campus. Only now, they’ve found more creative ways to make the system fit their needs.
As record-breaking enrollment continues, shuttles, the new 1,227
space Alpine parking garage and the parking lot near University Hall are meant to alleviate the problem.
The university has also implemented a new parking permit system and costs of these permits increased for the second consecutive year. There are 50 students are on the parking permit waitlist.
In order to respond these stresses, some students have figured out alternative solutions to get around campus.
“I only live a few blocks from University Hall,” Stephanie Light, a senior pre-nursing student, says. “It’s just really convenient to walk to University Hall and take the shuttle”.
“That’s what I do,” adds Kaitel Krone, a fellow pre-nursing senior. “I also just live up the street, and it’s much cheaper to just ride my bike to University Hall and take the shuttle.
“It’s a lot easier and a lot cheaper for me. The parking permits are so expensive, and they don’t even guarantee you a spot. Then you have the anxiety of spending a half hour just finding a spot, so I just cut all of that out.”
Krone’s concerns stem from the rise in prices for some of the more well-known parking permits in the last semester. The price of an academic year permit has jumped from $396 to $410, while the semester permit has risen from $196 to $205.
Even permits that only allow students to park in the university lots on certain days have seen a rise in cost across the board. The cost of both the Monday/Wednesday/Friday pass and the Tuesday/Thursday/Friday passes have increased from $126 to $131.
On the other hand, some students would rather deal with the rising cost of permits and the aforementioned stress of finding a spot because in the end, distance and convenience plays a major factor in the necessity of a permit.
Miranda Lovelace, a freshman business major, is one of these students.
“It just seemed very inconvenient,” says Lovelace. “I’d rather shell out the extra money.”
“I’m the same,” Sean Prinsen, a freshman computer science major, adds. “It’s just too far.”
Some students like geography and environmental studies major Leonard Oliver, have instead opted to take advantage of a combination of the two choices.
“I bought a Friday permit because it’s only $25,” Oliver says. “I have a class on Monday, Thursday,and Friday, so I just take the shuttle on Monday and Thursday and just use the permit on Friday.”