With the largest number of incoming students in the history of the university, parking at MSU has become a more serious campus issue.Director of parking services Mike Harris said students are not aware of all the parking lots available to them.
“Students that park in the commuter east zone not only can park on Hardy Road, but can park also in the lots beside Eckies Pond,” he said. “These parking spaces are all in the commuter east parking zone.”
There are a total of 13,132 student parking spaces on campus and just 12,424 parking decals have been sold, Harris said.
“Parking may not be convenient, but there is always somewhere for students to park,” he said.
There are ways to solve this “so-called” parking problem, Harris said.
First, students need to decide which route they will be taking to campus to avoid cross traffic, he said. Secondly, students should leave for campus at least half an hour before their class or appointment begins.
“This gives students an ample amount of time to find a parking spot and walk or shuttle to their destination,” Harris said.
Finally, students should find out which parking lots include their zone, he said.
“If students are still having trouble finding parking in the assigned zone,” Harris said, “they should park in the commuter Coliseum zone and take the shuttle to campus.”
Students should also be aware of the shuttle stops on campus, he said.
Many students say the shuttle system is too slow, but Harris said he disagrees.
“The shuttle does run efficiently because since we started the shuttles and established parking zones, this has made cross traffic not as bad as it was before zone parking and shuttles,” he said.
Junior history major Matt Fagan said there are too many students for the amount of parking lots available.
Freshman biological science major Kristine Lawrence said parking is a big problem on campus.
“You have to fight for a parking place at 7:30 a.m. and when you finally find a parking spot, you have to walk really far,” Lawrence said.
All students may park in the commuter coliseum zone at any time. After 3 p.m., commuters may park in any of the commuter zones, and after 5 p.m., faculty parking opens to all students. However, the gates close every day at 7 a.m.