It is no secret that parking on campus is a pain. We’ve all experienced the dreaded trek from D-lot at some point. But imagine how much easier it would be to know that, with seniority, comes the privilege of never having to worry about parking miles away again. It would be a right of passage.
Implementing four distinct residential parking passes, each granting access to a specific lot based on year level would resolve many parking challenges. Owning a car on campus is a privilege, many universities don’t even permit freshmen to have a car their first year. Making stricter regulations to limit car permits to freshmen is a first step in helping the parking problems we face. The stipulations in place to grant freshmen a parking permit would be an off-campus job and the inability to get home on break without a car. While this might be seen as unfair, it would alleviate tons of unnecessary traffic and overcrowding seen in all of the lots.
Kenny Macumber, a SUNY Cortland alum, recalled his experience when similar rules were in place. “In my freshman and sophomore years, there were specific passes for specific lots, and I had to park in D-lot. After COVID, when we returned to campus, all the lots opened up and there was just one residential pass. It became a free-for-all. I was frustrated because I had done my time in D-lot and was looking forward to parking in the Pro Studies or Park Center lots.”
Living on campus as a junior or senior can be particularly challenging, largely due to parking. These years are pivotal as we prepare for graduation and the transition into adulthood, with off-campus internships and jobs playing a key role in shaping our future. Juniors and seniors require reliable transportation to manage their demanding schedules. In contrast, freshmen and sophomores typically don’t need to travel off campus as often, so parking in D-lot (S-70) would be more than sufficient for them.
There’s nothing more frustrating than working an eight-hour shift on a Saturday and returning to campus, only to find a parking spot taken by a freshman who spent twenty minutes goofing around at Walmart, or even worse, by those who intentionally rush to their cars while upperclassmen leave for important responsibilities, to claim a closer spot.
It’s a hard truth, but the needs of students in their twenties, preparing to graduate, are vastly different from those of eighteen and nineteen-year-olds in their first year of college. These differences should be taken into account when considering parking passes.
Many students agree, strongly preferring the peace of mind that comes with a guaranteed spot in a designated lot. This would eliminate much of the uncertainty and frustration of driving around campus, searching for an open space in a closer lot. Simply driving to each residential lot and checking can take up to 15 minutes. And if you take the gamble and end up in D-lot, you’re faced with a 30-minute walk to the top of campus, where most academic buildings are located. In total, this can add up to an extra 45 minutes. For busy juniors and seniors, this process can quickly become exhausting. Those who don’t need to make regular trips off campus, should not be occupying valuable parking spaces closer to those who genuinely need them.
While many would support the idea of building a parking garage or expanding lots for students, these options are simply not the most feasible. However, reducing the number of freshmen allowed to bring cars on campus and designating residential lots based on grade level would greatly ease the parking challenges. Freshmen and sophomores could be given passes for D-Lot (S-70) and the sophomore could receive access to the Football Lot (S-68), juniors for the Pro Studies Lot (S-62), and the Park Center Lot (S-57) could be reserved exclusively for seniors. Adjustments could be made based on class size and specific needs for each year, allowing lower grade levels to potentially access higher lots if necessary.
In conclusion, implementing these changes would provide students with much-needed structure, easing the stress and anxiety of scrambling for parking spots. By ensuring a more organized and fair system, students would have greater peace of mind, ultimately improving their overall campus experience.