CSUMB’s Limited Parking

By Jesse Galiste

Lot 508 is the nearest parking lot to the College of Arts Humanities & Social Sciences building and is nearly always full daily.

Have you ever driven around aimlessly looking for parking at school? After nearly searching for 10 minutes, there seemed to be no hope. You are not alone; this is what it is like for many students at CSUMB. At the same time, there are alternative ways to commute to campus, such as bus shuttles, biking, skateboarding, etc. The most popular means of transportation is by vehicle, especially for people who live off campus. Although this issue impacts many, creating more convenient parking does not seem apparent to many.

The problem is not the actual amount of parking on campus. Instead, it is because of the limited number of convenient parking spaces near classes. Many of the more oversized parking lots are located on the outskirts of the main campus. For example, lots 59 and 71 have hundreds of parking spots and always have parking, but it is out of the way and inconvenient for students.

Jonathan Avalos is a third-year transfer student studying Humanities and Communications. He stated, “It’s hard to find parking anywhere convenient, but lot 71 always has spots available it’s just a steep uphill walk.” Like how many other students feel, they just want a convenient and safe parking spot. Especially depending on the time of day, they don’t have to walk far at night in the dark.

When discussing solutions to the limited parking spots problem, he stated, “There are a lot of empty parking lots and facilities that don’t get used that I think can get turned into parking lots. However, I don’t think that will happen.” The parking situation at CSUMB has been the same for years and hasn’t changed much. So it is no wonder students do not feel much will change.

Lot 59 is one of the biggest parking lots and is nearly always empty on campus.

Lupe Cabeca is the Parking supervisor for the University Police Department here on campus. Concerning the parking crisis, she added, “I don’t believe there is a “parking crisis” there are only individuals who don’t plan. The general parking stalls have never been completely occupied during an academic day. The demand for parking does not exceed the supply. Complaints of parking are generally from drivers who want to park closer to their destination”.

The number of attending students compared to the convenient general parking stalls close to the center of campus is drastically outnumbered. She also stated, “There are 3350 general parking stalls on campus. This does not include East Campus, Promontory, North Quad, ADA, Service, Short-term, or loading stalls”. There seems to be enough parking for everyone but not enough convenient parking for students who want a short walk. It is hard to believe that the parking situation hasn’t changed with the yearly uptick in student attendance.

Students pay hundreds of dollars yearly for parking permits, yet convenient parking spaces are consistently unavailable. Especially since the cost of parking passes has gone up significantly over the past few years. If students have to pay hundreds of dollars for parking, they must at least be able to park somewhere convenient.

Daisy Prado is a second-year Collaborative Health & Human Services major and commutes daily from Hollister. “Students need more available parking, at least for commuters. This is a huge overlooked factor because so many students are coming simultaneously, and we have to fight in traffic and for parking. So many circle the same parking lots only to be late to class”.

The fact is that each student is on their schedule. They are coming to campus when it is convenient for them to come to campus. It shouldn’t be a matter of arriving on campus early only to have a convenient parking spot. With the amount of money students pay for school parking, they should at least be able to have a safe and convenient parking space each time they arrive on campus.