Eastern Michigan University Parking Woes

A student recounts her problems with parking at Eastern Michigan University

It doesn’t even have to be a football game between the Eastern Michigan University Eagles and the University of Michigan Wolverines for the parking lots on Eastern Michigan University’s campus to resemble rush hour on Interstate 696. It is simply a fact that commuting students must face: parking is dismal.

Some students, like Jordan Scavone are so unhappy with the parking limitations have decided to either walk from their homes, if close enough, or park in local businesses.

Many don’t know that these are all parking spaces for those with a permit.

Scavone said, “I live really close but I refuse to park on campus; I’ll just walk from home.

Eastern Michigan University is known by some as a commuter college but the fact remains that, often times, the only parking available is in North Lot. North Lot is the parking lot on the north side of campus which has the most parking spaces but is also the furthest from almost all of the buildings which hold classes.

The situation is that at the start of this semester students were required, if they planned on parking on campus in the designated lots, to purchase a hang tag. The hang tag cost some students $100 some paid more than that depending on several variables.

Many of the regular lots were under construction at the start of the fall semester and it was unknown to many what exactly was occurring. As it turned out, many of the parking lots were converted from public parking or commuter parking to pay lots. Pay lots which had an optimal location.

“They take the biggest lots and make them for paying [students] only,” said senior, Hannah Dickinson.

Some of the closest lots are either for faculty or pay lots.

It is one of the bigger frustrations faced by commuting students.

“Parking here sucks!” said Benjamin Klos, a junior and a business major, “that is why I park at the apartment complexes nearby. I don’t need a pass and it’s close enough so it isn’t that bad of a walk.”

Some students are more vocal of the topic. They feel that, while this semester isn’t that bad, it is a change from past semesters. One of the most ongoing complaints is the cost of the parking passes; starting this fall they went from $75 to $100 per semester.

Jeni Hellum, senior, said, “It’s not too bad for me now because I literally have a 7 minute walk to class, but last year it was a headache because I didn’t have the money for a parking pass so I either had to try to get a meter or go to a pay lot. Utter pain in the ass. I ended up parking a ways away in Depot Town and walking 20 minutes to save money.”

Students who commute are faced with the choice between “trolling” for a parking spot, the act of slowly driving through the lots behind pedestrians with the hopes that they will snag their parking spot, or parking in pay lots for upwards of $3 per day.

“Trolling” is the act of sitting in wait trying to get a parking space currently occupied.

For those who have a parking pass for which they paid $100, parking in a pay lot is utterly unacceptable. Some students expressed their feeling that because they couldn’t find a close spot in the commuter lots, paying for parking after paying for a parking pass was like paying twice for the same privilege.

“I know that in the winter there are absolutely no close parking because students who live on campus and have their car here will move their car to the [parking] structure so they don’t have to scrape their windows,” said one student.

What is the commuter to do, then? A few options would be:

1. Make sure to leave earlier for class than you need to.

Take into consideration traffic and looking for a parking space.

2. Weigh the options

If, in the winter semester, you can’t find a space, decide which is better: a half-mile walk in -2 degree weather or paying $3 for parking.

3. Car pool: Save gas and frustration if you are not the one looking for parking.

4. Don’t Troll: Sitting and waiting for a spot might be fine but if someone is not looking this could cause a crash.

With the proper planning there is no reason that parking is going to be as much of a nightmare as it is perpetuated. If you have ideas which may help your fellow students feel free to post them as a comment bellow.

More parking tips are available at EMU’s website.