The Parking Paradox at UNR: Pay First, Park Maybe

Students at the University of Nevada, Reno express their frustrations about on campus parking. Reporting by Grace Foerschler, Janessa Arretche, and Hudson Brandon.

On a recent early Monday morning, a busy sophomore, Will, who only wanted his first name used, was getting ready for his morning commute before his 9 a.m. econ lecture at the University of Nevada, Reno.

As a commuting student living 10 minutes away, he bought a parking pass over the summer to ensure a parking spot for a stress-free morning routine. However, he has since learned that he needs to leave his house at 8 a.m. for the 9 a.m. lecture to actually ensure getting an available spot.

This is due to the shortage of parking spots the University offers. The amount of parking spots on campus are estimated to range from 8,300 to 10,000, drastically underrepresenting the more than 24,000 students and 1,000 faculty members.

Parking on Campus is a daily struggle for University of Nevada students and faculty. Rising permit costs and limited availability make parking difficult for all of them, not to mention visitors.

Buying a pass for up to $700 in addition to rising tuition costs frustrates students, especially when they say securing a parking spot is never guaranteed even with a costly parking pass. Students spend valuable minutes finding parking in different garages. Parking strategies include getting to campus during the mid morning hours, primarily before 10:00 a.m.

Parking enforcement has become especially strict, many students say, with tickets, usually costing $20, sometimes reaching $40.

University records show that in 2024, 31,364 citations, courtesy warnings, and field voids were issued, resulting in $649,676 in revenue from parking citations.

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For many students, this strict enforcement adds another layer of stress to an already difficult situation.

“They would sell more parking passes than they do spots, so I don’t think that it’s fair,” Victoria Legaspaldi, a junior, says of giving up on paying to park on campus.

While parking passes allow students to access certain lots, with a different range of prices, the fact they do not guarantee a spot frustrates many who already pay for tuition and other expenses.

“I don’t have a parking pass specifically with the school, but I do have one with Silver and Blue Outfitters. I pay like $400 dollars a semester and then it gets cheaper over the summer,” Legaspi says, over a $300 price difference compared to the most expensive UNR parking, of a deal set up by a store next to campus.

Instead of purchasing a permit anywhere, some students choose to park farther away from campus, such as a 10 minute walk to the Circus Circus parking garage, or rely on alternative options, like using slow and often unreliable city buses.

Others arrive on campus much earlier than their classes begin, hoping to ensure a spot before lots fill up.

Depending on time of day, finding parking can take anywhere from a few minutes to nearly half an hour.

Savannah Martin, a junior majoring in Kinesiology, says the additional cost of parking feels unreasonable on top of tuition and other expenses, calling it “outrageous.”

Others compare the university’s parking system to different schools and question why costs are higher here. Senior journalism major Tisha Potijaeron says she believes UNR could take notes from other universities when it comes to affordability.

“I understand the parking situation is very competitive, and we make a lot of money for parking, however, other schools especially places like UNLV or Sacramento State, parking does not come close to being that expensive,” Potijaeron says. According to records we found, UNLV parking permits only reach up to $340 for an annual parking pass.

A page on the UNR parking page has an FAQ but it seems, based on what’s written, that the response to one question asked as “Do We Have a Shortage of Parking Spaces on Campus?” is dated by several years.

“University Parking and Transportation Services annually conducts five parking-space availability counts to determine how many spaces are available every hour of the day. The results indicate that on the busiest hour of the busiest day, there are still about 870 spaces available. However, it is also true that many of these available spaces are located in the north of campus, which is relatively inconvenient for those who attend classes or work on the south end of campus,” it indicates in the first part of the answer but this information seems to precede the current year by at least four years.

“As the University continues to grow, Parking and Transportation Services estimate that by FY22, there may only be an estimated 600 remaining parking permits available to be sold as compared to the 1,336 available today. Most of these available spaces are in the north campus while new residence halls and future University growth will occur in the south,” it indicates. Many students would like to see an update and more of a university focus on making parking on campus both cheaper and more accessible.