EC Campus Security has introduced a new parking enforcement system that includes four specified stickers: resident, commuter, bike program participants, and free lot.
Not all students can vouch for the new program and many commuters are vexed about their inability to park on campus late into the night without retrieving a pass.
“It seems kind of ridiculous if you pay to go here and you can’t stay overnight or late into the morning without a pass,” said Kerry Marmozewicz, junior.
Some students are upset that they are paying a high price for such low quality parking when parking used to be free. This is the second year that students have had to pay for parking.
“We’ve had students illegally register other students in their names. … We’ve also had students store their cars on campus without a sticker. Caroline Krause, assistant director of Campus Security
“With the raise in tuition I don’t see why we need to pay so much for parking,” said Morgan Saaf, junior and English education major.
Ashley Thompson, senior, admits that the price of parking in addition to the raise in tuition has caused her to ask her parents to drop her off every morning.
Joshua Lutz, senior, suspects that parking is getting better, but the growth of freshman class size is partially why it remains so difficult.
Resident stickers allow overnight parking for $200 a year, while commuter stickers allow parking during the day for $100 a year. Bike program participants are allowed to park during winter months for $25, and free lot stickers allow parking in free lots such as United Methodist.
Stickers are color coded with a year and serial number to make them easily identifiable for campus security.
There are also designated motorcycle spaces that are free to register, and 47 spaces by the train station.
Caroline Krause, assistant director of Campus Security, believes that the new measures will cut down on parking problems and help prevent students from registering and leaving multiple cars on campus.
“We’ve had students illegally register other students in their names,” said Krause. “Usually they are seniors registering for first years. We’ve also had students store their cars on campus without a sticker.”
Krause says that the new system answer students’ needs for moving stickers from vehicle to vehicle.
She received complaints by students that the old stickers were difficult to remove and that some students even injured themselves using razor blades to remove them.
According to Krause, the designated parking stickers are beneficial to the entire campus and help to ensure better parking for all.
