Parking Problems
Will There Ever be Sufficient Parking on RU’s Campus?

Brandi Dawson

Parking has always been a hot topic of discussion among RU students, and this year is no different. Several changes have been made in the past year to parking, and more changes are currently under discussion.

The largest project taken on was the reconstruction of lot C. The lot was moved to the campus side of the road after safety concerns were brought up about students crossing the busy street. The project, funded by the state, was originally planned to be complete last September. Heavy rains killed the timeline, however, and the project was not finished until December. Now that it’s finished, the project has added more than just safety to the campus.

Parking Services Director, James Perkins, said, “I think it added a lot as far as safety for students and staff to the university. I think it also added to the aesthetic beauty of the campus. It brought it in and made it look a part of the campus, rather than kind of detached away from it.”

Since its completion, students have found parking to be much more convenient.

“ I love it. I think it’s great. I used to have to fight for a spot here everyday and not I don’t even have to wait at all,” said RU sophomore Rebecca Byrnside.

The new lot has about 80 less spaces than before, however, Perkins says this has not caused any drastic changes in the number of tickets issued. That number remains at around 13,000 per year.

Tickets issued on campus are a huge concern for RU students, and Perkins says that about 25% of tickets are appealed. He does not know how many of those are approved, however. At 25 dollars a piece, tickets alone bring in around $325,000 a year to Parking Services. This may sound like a lot, but when you consider that Parking Services has to generate all its money through itself, the number doesn’t seem so high. Parking Services provides everything from snow removal, paving, construction of new lots, such as the new lot FF on Stockton Street near Hunter’s Ridge and the Tartan Transit through these funds.

Although some students are happy with the changes and the current parking situation, others still have concerns.

“ I think they need way more parking and they even said they’re going to take out from 7-11 on or something like that. I definitely don’t think they should do that,” said RU sophomore, Caroline Downs.

Other students suggest parking solutions such as a parking garage and more metered parking. Metered parking spaces are usually fought over the most, as off-campus students search for a place to park to go to class, or run to the computer lab. There are currently about 108 metered spaces on campus, and these alone bring in around $8,000 a year. Perkins says that if any more metered spaces were to be added, which is doubtful, they would be more 30 minute spaces for students to run errands on campus—not to park and go to class.