Parking problems just keep getting worse

There’s probably not a person on this campus who has not run into some sort of pain when it comes to parking. No matter what, it seems like there are never enough spots. For the people who live on campus, they can circle the parking lots 10 times and never find a place to park. And for commuters, sometimes leaving for class 45 minutes before it starts seems like the only way. This comes as no surprise.

The new commuter lot where Terrace once was probably helps, but the improvement is just not that evident. It’s not enough. Parking continues to be a headache and the university needs to step up to the plate to ease the problem.

The truth is, Parking Services sells more passes than there are spots in most lots. So on any given day, a person could be out of luck when it comes to a place to park his or her car. For Fall 2006, there were 2,475 commuter parking spots and 4,500 passes sold. Now, that’s a big difference. Yes, not everyone is on campus at the same time. Still the numbers just don’t make a lot of sense.

And then there’s the dreaded senior lot that took away more spots from the other students living on campus. A senior lot intended for the 496 seniors who live on campus just seems silly. There has to be a better way.

Let’s also factor in that when the School of Journalism and Mass Communication makes the move to Franklin Hall, there will be pretty much nowhere for the faculty to park. And as for the students? They will still be on the other side of campus battling it out for spots. Looks like those apartments on Lincoln are going to become prime real estate for students next year.

Parking services does take into account the times more students are on campus and how many empty spots there are. They also take into consideration the past numbers of passes. However, something just is not working.

Selling fewer passes could be a solution to some people’s problems, but it will put students in an even worse position. It would be better if Kent State worked more with the city to utilize unused lots around town.

There also would not be as big of a need for commuter parking if the bus services were a little more reliable. PARTA has the ability to eliminate a lot of the dilemmas with parking if they could always be counted on.

With the amount of students, this will just continue to be a problem unless the university starts planning ahead. Add on to that the fact that when it snows, the piles of snow take up a few extra spots in every lot. So this is our call to the university now – let’s try to prevent a full-out problem before it gets any worse.

The above editorial is the general consensus opinion of the editorial board of the Daily Kent Stater.