Parking problems: we have a “lot” to complain about

By Avery Slavin Editorial Staff By Andrea Zereski Staff Writer

When coming back to campus late at night, you’ll almost always find the Maynard Lot full, leading residents to have to park in Union Lot a mile from campus. This should not be a problem. However, after 11:45 p.m., the Ram Tram stops running. This leads students to call Campus Police for a ride - which ultimately feels like an inconvenience to them - or walk. Many students just park in Salem End Lot overnight to solve this issue with the intention of moving back to Maynard in the morning. Salem End Lot is designated to commuters for parking during the day, meaning it’s at its busiest from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Resident students have zero intention of taking these spots from the commuters. They simply just want somewhere to go for the night. If a resident’s car is not moved back to Maynard by the crack of dawn the next morning, they get punished with a ticket from campus police. It’s understandable, as they are parked in the wrong parking lot, but ticketing in the wee hours of the morning is a bit much. As women, walking the streets of Framingham from Union to campus is just a no-go, and we could be waiting for campus police for a long time before we get picked up. Parking on campus is simply easier and safer. Parking in Salem is against the rules, hence all the ticketing that happens, but in that case, why isn’t Maynard big enough to accommodate all upperclassmen? Considering our campus is mostly students from New England, many of them are driving distance from FSU, meaning they have their cars with them. Parking has been an issue on campus for years. Why hasn’t FSU found a better system for it? Putting freshmen in Union makes sense, as they are at the bottom of the priority list. Many colleges don’t even allow freshmen to bring their cars during their first year, so to have it nearby is a privilege in itself. With that being said, upperclassmen who park in Maynard shouldn’t have to park in Union for overflow parking. Even allowing students to park in Maple Lot or the Athletic Lot is better than Union. Speaking of the Athletic Lot, overnight guests on weeknights are able to park there, with the general rule being the car must be moved in the early morning. If guests can park on campus essentially overnight, why can’t students? Union Lot is about 0.9 miles from the McCarthy Center, and even further from the residence halls, while the Athletic Lot is 0.3 miles - a quicker and safer walk in the chance someone can’t find a spot in Maynard. Also, with the price of parking passes being $250 for upperclassman residents, it’s extremely frustrating not being guaranteed a parking spot. If there’s a chance we have to walk a mile back to campus late at night, at least make the pass cheaper. Not only are there limited spots in Maynard, it’s not well spread out. The rows of cars are too close together, as well as the actual spots. This faulty design has caused difficulty getting in and out of spots, even leading numerous students to post on anonymous apps begging to know who parked horribly or even who hit their cars. Even just driving through the lot, there is not enough space for two cars to pass each other going opposite ways. One person typically needs to slow down and move over a bit to allow the other person to pass. I guess there’s no winning when it comes to parking at FSU. We think there should be some kind of parking garage or bigger parking area to fit all students, or at least one area to fit all residents and one to fit all commuters. We can only dream. Our verdict: Don’t come back to campus past 9 p.m. on a weekday if you want a parking spot.