The Everyday Frustration: Parking at BYU How do you feel about parking at BYU? “It’s terrible!” says Clark, a freshman who commutes to school each day. He went on to say, “There’s just not enough lots, or stalls for all of the students at BYU so I have to park at the stadium!” It’s the start of a new semester and the dreadful task of finding a decent parking spot each day is just beginning. If you asked the students what the number one issue at Brigham Young University is, parking would be the answer. BYU’s large student body requires more parking that is closer to campus than is provided. Because of the limited parking at BYU, many students are forced to park illegally. BYU parking services reported that easily over a hundred tickets are given out daily due to students parking in restricted areas. They explained that the number of tickets varies daily but the exact stats were confidential. Emily, a student at BYU, said in response to a question about parking, “I hate it because there is very restricted amounts of parking for the residents of new heritage and it is very inconvenient for a freshman like myself to have to walk down to the lot across the street from the creamery whenever I would like to use my car.” We both have cars here at BYU but living in new heritage has made it difficult to use them. I have heard of several other stories of students who make the decision daily if parking in an unauthorized lot is worth getting a potential ticket. Many students resort to parking illegally to solve their frustrations.
Driving is not only a privilege, but it is a necessity. Lack of parking has not only been an issue for the residents of new heritage but it has become a problem for the majority of students at BYU. Driving is a more important part of the student’s lives than the administration may believe. Students need transportation to buy food, visit friends and family members, to go do something fun on a Friday night, and even in case of an emergency. Students have paid a lot of money to have a car and want to be able to use it. The main reason I brought my car to college is so I can visit my family on the weekends. Living only a half hour from home creates the option to go home on the weekends. I also enjoy using my car to go grocery shopping because the food at the creamery is overpriced and makes it difficult to stay in budget. Students need transportation, and BYU should help students upheld this need.
Parking has become a frustrating issue for students because it controls their time. College students know how valuable time is trying to balance school, homework, social life, sleep, and more. Nowhere to park causes students to have to leave home at an unreasonable hour just so they can get to class on time. Think of the hours of study time that is being wasted trying to find a spot or walking to our cars. Having to park so far away from campus often results in students being late. We all agree that time is very valuable and by creating more convenient parking, students will be able to save more time getting to and from their vehicle.
Not only is time a concern but there are also danger issues involved in lack of parking. People are always waiting for parking spots causing the lot to be crowded which is not safe for pedestrians walking through it. When the time comes that there is an open space, the driver often speeds to it, in fear they may not get it. Just last week my friend came home and explained that while she was walking through the parking lot she got clipped by a car. Creating more parking would allow the lots to be less hectic and decrease the danger issues included.
Each lot has different guidelines prohibiting certain students from parking there. The Football stadium parking is one lot that is for everyone and almost always has parking available. Besides it being far away from all on
