There are three things that are inevitable for many NC State students: debt, final exams and a lack of parking spots. Almost every student has experienced waking up early in the morning during the summer, sitting on their computers on the NCSU Transportation website, and praying they can secure a parking spot for the upcoming semester.
With an increasing number of freshmen admitted each year, the student population is gradually getting larger. As such, more students need a place to park their car. Unfortunately, as many people who attend NC State can attest, parking is rather scarce, especially on Central Campus.
Although parking is available across NC State, such as on Centennial Campus or at the Varsity lot, these locations can be inconvenient to students who have most of their classes on North Campus. As such, NC State needs to focus more of their resources on creating additional parking spots on Central Campus.
With high demand for parking, some students might need easy access to their car for internships or off-campus work. This makes it critical for students to be within a few minutes’ walk from their cars.
Additionally, more students are starting to commute to school with the student housing crisis, forcing some students to live off-campus. Since a lot of students have a majority of their classes on North Campus, they would preferably like to park somewhere on Central Campus. However, the Coliseum Parking Deck has a high credit requirement, and the Dan Allen Parking Deck is only available to graduate students.
The few options left are spots at Varsity Lot, West Deck, and other areas across Centennial. Parking in these areas is limited and it may be inconvenient for some students. To prevent the risk of students being late for their courses and generally make getting to classes easier and more accessible, NC State needs to offer parking that is close to their classes.
Unfortunately, NC State does not seem interested in creating new parking spots, especially on Central Campus. During the Feb. 20, 2019 Student Senate meeting, Senator Vanhoy asked if there were any plans to mitigate the loss of around 100 resident east spots. The response from Cathy Reeve, the then-director of parking at NCSU Transportation was less than thrilling, saying that “there is parking available often on Thurman Drive, and on the bottom of Coliseum deck.” This response is especially concerning considering that part of the Colosseum Deck may be torn down due to safety concerns.
It’s a shame that NCSU Transportation is actively hurting the parking situation by taking away spots and not having a plan to create more. As more students are admitted to NC State, it is imperative that students have access to their cars and can safely commute to school.
Hopefully, NC State will create a plan to increase parking across campus and inform students about any upcoming changes. After all, if we’re paying over $200 for parking each semester, we shouldn’t have to worry about securing a spot.
