Have you ever been circling campus without finding a parking spot, only to find yourself late to class? If so, you are not alone.
The parking situation at William Peace University has been an ongoing problem for many years. The parking lots do not accommodate every student and faculty who have a parking pass and need to park on campus.
Students have the option of purchasing a parking pass to park on campus, but that doesn’t always mean that you are guaranteed a spot. Many students and faculty end up having to park on the side of the road or at nearby businesses.
Kelsey Harrison, a junior Marketing major at WPU, is frustrated with the parking system as it is not ideal.
“I drive around everyday looking for a spot just to drive off campus to park,” Harrison says. “I pay $225 a year not guaranteed a parking spot and to be late for class.”
Jason Dudley, a Peace senior, is also irritated with how parking is orchestrated.
“I make sure I leave in plenty of time so that I am guaranteed a parking spot, because if not there is no where to park,” says Dudley.
Michael John, Director of Public Safety, said that there are an average of 350 parking passes distributed a semester and that there are 546 available spot on campus to accommodate students, staff, and faculty.
That number of parking spaces need to accommodate not only paid pass holders, but also faculty, staff, visitors, and guests for events.
John notes that there are an average of 400 parking tickets distributed throughout the school year for violations of the parking regulations.
The people who do not have a parking pass, but proceed to park on campus anyway, do receive parking tickets, however, these tickets are not stopping people from continuing to park on campus.
All of these circumstances impact the number of spaces available for pass holders.
Students hope for solutions that will ease some of the stress in their daily routine.
Many wonder if additional parking on Bingham lawn would help the parking issue. If the university has not designated different use for this area, parking spaces there might help to alleviate the problem.
Dudley came up with the idea of possibly building a parking deck in that area or even in the main parking lot. Another solution might be greater penalties and fines for those who park on campus without a pass.
If students understood the significance of their violation and receive stiffer penalties they might reconsider parking in spaces without holding a paid parking pass.
This is a complex situation that unfortunately has not easy solutions, but that needs a solution fast.
According to John, there are no future plans or improvements for parking on campus at this time.