Campus, News

New semester, same parking woes

As another semester begins at Long Beach State, many students still find themselves in the same struggle with parking.

Spring semester parking has become increasingly impacted. There are 14,090 parking spots on campus and 20,000 permits are sold a year, according to Robyn Ames-Woodyard, director of operations, finance management at a community meeting earlier this month. Ames-Woodyard said last year LBSU rented space next to Lowes off Bellflower Avenue for overflow parking, something the school is considering for another semester.

“We sold 370 permits and we maxed out about 80 percent in terms of the spaces we used,” Ames-Woodyard said. “So now we know of those 370, we are only really using 180 spaces or so every day so we are going to look at it some more.”

According to Ames-Woodyard, there are about 10,000 students who ride LBSU transit and a metro program was put into place.

“We sold 250 permits and only 12 of those students actually had vehicle permits as well, so we are really trying to get them to take sustainable transportation when they can to free up the space on the campus,” she said.

Last year, overflow expenses cost $12.8 million and only $12 million was brought in, Woodyard added.

As a commuter-campus, most students depend on spaces on campus to be open so they can get to class on time. According to Fabian Ambriz, a sophomore chemical engineering major, he experiences the hardest time finding parking between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.

“One time when I was walking to my car, a girl asked me to take her to my spot so she could park in it when I left,” Ambriz said.

Bonnie Raunav, a junior liberal studies major, said finding a spot takes upward of 30 minutes which sometimes results in her being late to class.

For students that live off-campus at the Beachside dorms and shuttle to campus, parking isn’t as big of an issue.

“I don’t have to deal with the stress of traffic,” said Julia Campbell, a junior family life education major. “I don’t use gas, so I fill up every three weeks instead of two weeks and I’m not rushing to class because the shuttle stops are in front of my classes.”

Many students such as Campbell who live at Beachside, or who take the bus benefit from not having to be a part of the chaos of fighting for a parking spot on campus and hurrying to get to class.

“Taking the bus to campus is beneficial,” said Kierra Cortez, a junior child development and family studies major. “I don’t have to go far, it’s only about a three minute ride and I’m not late to class. There aren’t enough spaces on campus and the permit is too expensive to buy.”

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