Packed lots and permit prices continue to frustrate students
By: Corinne Speckert, The Spartan Daily
Posted: 8/27/08
Despite SJSU's 19 campus parking lots, three garages and a free shuttle going to and from campus, students are having trouble finding parking.
"Parking is definitely a problem," said Steve Hardin, a freshman business marketing major. "It's an issue that needs to be addressed."
Hardin said finding parking is possible, but it's difficult and students have to be willing to take their chances by parking on streets.
"I was here at quarter to 7 a.m. and was already on the third floor," said Debbie Walde, a junior business major. "I heard if you get here at 9, just forget it."
With a record number of freshmen attending SJSU this fall, university police has been out in full force, trying to manage the overflow of students.
Sgt. John Laws of the University Police Department said traffic control has been lighter this year compared with others and to help accommodate SJSU's 32,000 to 33,000 students, the department is directing students to parking lots, encouraging the use of the Park and Ride lot and hiring more staff.
"We just hired one new bus driver, so we're hiring staff and making sure we have bus drivers to get people where they need to be," Laws said.
Students who manage to find parking may be hit with a fine for violating parking restrictions, said UPD Sgt. Mike Santos.
"There is no such thing as a free two-week period where no one gets cited," Santos said. "Generally, when students are cited, they just have to pay the fine but risk the chance of getting a hold placed on their record (if they don't pay)."
Tony Valenzuela, associate vice president of Facilities Development and Operations, said that to help accommodate students the school plans to increase student housing, which would decrease the need to drive, and leave more parking for commuters.
Valenzuela also said the extra freshmen may help turn SJSU into a residential campus because of the higher demand for housing. The school plans to increase student housing in Hoover, Royce and Washburn Halls from 600 beds to 2,200 by 2010, and until then, he hopes the school's 7,846 parking spaces will be sufficient enough.
"We need to prove (that campus housing) has demand, and this year we can say we're full," he said. "We want to be a residential campus and can only do that with more students coming in. The waiting list to get into housing is showing that we do have demand. Because of the size of our campus, as of this time, we don't have any solutions except increasing residential campus."
Although increasing student housing may save some parking spaces, students currently living on campus are struggling to find parking themselves.
"I live on campus, and they don't have any parking," said Erin Ellis, a sophomore psychology major. "They're sold out, and I'm on two wait lists, and everyone says they can't do anything. I have to pay $8 every day, but that doesn't guarantee nights, and a parking pass is over $300 a semester. I talked to some of my friends at different universities and they don't pay half of what we pay."
Ellis said she's weary about using the Park and Ride lot because she would need to leave her car there overnight, and she can't guarantee that it would be safe.
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