Dude,Where's my car?

It’s a rainy Thursday morning at Westfield State University. Students with umbrellas and rain boots walk the sidewalks of campus. I pull into Wilson’s commuter lot along with several other cars only to find all the spaces full. As I exit the lot onto the main street, I see several other cars pulling into Wilson. Unfortunately for them, they’re out of luck.

According to studentuniversities.com, approximately 86 percent of college students are commuters. With so many people driving to school and only a limited amount of parking, there are often problems for many students.

The average college student is between the ages of eighteen to twenty-four. Commuters also come from several different backgrounds. Some are full time students trying to save money so they live at home, while others are parents themselves with children at home. There are several different reasons that students choose to commute.

As I make my way down Western Avenue, I can’t help but notice the line of cars in front of me and behind me. Some turn down by Ely, while others try to make their way to Juniper parking lot. I myself continue driving to South lot.

It is no surprise to me that the students who arrive later in the day, like myself, have such a hard time finding parking. Westfield sent out an email at the beginning of the year stating exactly how many parking spots there are in each lot.

Commuter Lot: 417

Woodward Center: 37

Horace Mann Center: 32

Juniper Parking Lot: 102

Ely North Road West: 7

Ely Road: 46

Ely North Road: 20

With just over 660 parking spots and approximately eighty-six percent of students commuting out of 5,562 students all together, parking for the commuters is inadequate. Not to mention, Ely lots are only available during the fall semester. That cuts out nearly 70 spaces come spring time.

Along with the lack of spaces, it costs each commuter $100 to park on campus. Now for students like myself who once had to pay $300 to park on campus, it doesn’t seem too bad. For others, $100 is a lot of money so they want to get the best parking they can. The only way that I can think of doing so is by getting to school hours earlier. The students with the 8:15 classes are the ones who get the best parking. For most people, getting to school earlier isn’t possible due to jobs, kids, or various other reasons. So for us late comers, the parking is very scarce.

Eventually after making my way through rows and rows of cars, I find an empty parking spot at the end of South Lot. I need to make sure to get to school at least 20 minutes early because it is about a 15 minute walk from my car to my first class. Now, I’m not complaining about the exercise I’m able to get on a daily basis, but walking in the snow won’t be much fun.

Although, the school offers a shuttle to get from South lot to your classes, it only comes in half hour intervals so by the time many of us have arrived at school, the shuttle has already left. If we were to wait for the shuttle, we would be late to class, so our only option is to walk. Sometimes in the rain, sometimes in the snow, and if we’re lucky, in the sun.