As students settle into the new semester, new experiences are on the horizon. Although, some things stay the same, like the ever-congested parking lots of Salisbury University.
Since students came back to classes full-time in 2021, parking lots have been full. This has seemed to be a problem every year since then, and with no solutions appearing, students are asking what’s next.
Julie Mace, a senior at SU and green parking pass holder says she has always had problems parking around campus. Mace says she now parks in the Dogwood lot because trying to find a spot closer to her class in TETC (Conway) takes too long.
“Parking passes are expensive,” Mace said. “I shouldn’t have to waste time in the morning trying to find a parking spot.”
Green parking passes are $115 and allow students to park in any white parking spot in the Chesapeake lot (Lot A), Academic Commons lot (Lot B), Dogwood lot (Lot D) and Devilbiss lot (Lot E), as well as Seagull Square lots (Lot J&L). The next pass down is the $90 blue parking pass that allows parking in the parking garage.
There are four parking lots unavailable to all students that are for staff and have all red parking spots. These include College Ave. lot (Lot G), Conway lot (Lot H), U.S 13 lot (Lot C) and Camden lot (Lot F).
Students will be ticketed if parked in these lots between 7:30 a.m-4:45 p.m.
Students have also experienced issues with the new ticketing system, which was introduced in 2022. Some students, like senior and green parking pass holder Tannor Snyder, have received parking fines, but are not being alerted right away or emphatically.
“I got a ticket for parking in a red spot in the library lot because I was going to be late to class and there were no other spots,” Snyder said. “I got one email about it that I didn’t see, because as students we are getting tons of emails every day. I didn’t know I got a ticket for weeks.”
He thinks a single email alerting students of parking fines seems like the bare minimum, especially considering the current parking situations around campus.
“It doesn’t make sense that parking is such an issue when there are multiple other parking lots that aren’t available to students but are rarely more than half full,” he said.
Snyder is not alone in his confusion as to why some parking lots are unavailable to students, especially when they could technically create more parking opportunities.
Caroline Pley, a senior and green parking pass holder has started parking in the Scarborough Center parking lot. She, like Julie Mace, has decided to park in a different parking lot nowhere near her class because it actually saves time in the long run.
“I think they shouldn’t sell as many parking passes as they do,” Pley said. “If they can’t have a functional parking lot where students can park without possibly being late to class, they should sell less passes.”
Parking spaces will not open up overnight, so with no current steps being taken by SU officials or Parking Services to create more available parking, the outlook is not too good for the parking sphere.
By JOHN PASKOSKI
Staff Writer
Featured image courtesy of John Paskoski