Parking Problems Persist

Attempting to find parking on campus often feels like a Herculean task. While MSU has been making progress, there are still some serious flaws in the parking system. Despite multiple phone calls and emails over the course of a week, MSU Parking Services failed to respond for comment. However, a wealth of online information provided the basis for this article.

The new parking system, denoted by pictures of animals indigenous to Montana, provoked mixed reactions from the student body. It reorganized parking lots on campus and designated each one for a specific permit type corresponding to an animal. It also eliminated hangtags and introduced a new license plate reading system. Permits can be shared amongst several cars, but only one car can be parked on campus at a time. The new system no longer allows students to “park down” in the parking lots, which means they cannot park in lots that have cheaper permits than the permit that they hold (e.g. SB permit-holders were allowed to park down in E and F lots last year).

There are two key issues with MSU’s parking system: overselling permits and the dispersal of permits among lots. According to Parking Services, the new system guarantees that “the ability to find a parking space will be easier.” Historically, parking permits were sold in unlimited numbers, and they are now being capped at a certain number for each permit type, depending on the number of spaces and turnover in each lot. However, the university is still planning to sell “the same amount of permits as last year,” but claims that the permits will be “dispersed among the lots.” This is disconcerting, to say the least. If the permits were sold at nearly 100% over capacity last year and that is continuing this year, how can Parking Services claim that finding a parking space will be easier?

The university claims that it oversells permits because “not everyone parks on campus at the same time.” This is true for commuting students, but many resident students do park on campus throughout the week at the same time. These students deserve to be able to find parking on campus near their residence halls.

Secondly, the dispersal of permits among the lots is a problem. While Bison lots (for resident students) are packed full, Wolf lots (for commuting students) stand half-empty on most days. Students remain on waitlists for Wolf permits despite the absence of cars in these lots. It’s clear that the permits have not been properly distributed. The fact that students cannot “park down” in other lots means that there is no natural way for students to alleviate this problem. In addition, most parking permits are prohibitively expensive, costing over $200.

These two issues could be resolved through a simple process. First, MSU Parking Services should designate the lots for permit type by their proximity to dorms for resident students and class buildings for commuting students. Second, Parking Services should perform research on lot turnover and capacity and sell permits according to their findings so that the dispersal of permits functions more efficiently. With these two improvements, the positive aspects of the new parking system (the license plate reader, elimination of excess signs, etc.) could be highlighted rather than hidden.

As an anonymous senior at MSU pointed out the other day, “You’d think a university that has been operating for 125 years would be able to sort out the parking problem.” Parking will never be perfect. However, it can always improve.