Throughout the semester, students have expressed concerns about parking availability on campus, saying it has been more challenging to find parking this fall than in previous semesters.
“I definitely have to get here earlier, because when I get here, it is five to 10 minutes before class, so it takes me that amount of time to find parking near where I am going,” said Daniela Garcia, senior biology major and peer leader.
Garcia said that difficulty finding parking has caused her to be late to class.
Cars quickly fill up the NSU’s parking lots, making the search for space more difficult by the day. PHOTO BY ASHLEY DIAZ.
“There’s a bunch of new people coming in their cars, so space is limited for those of us coming at a later time,” said Garcia. “By the time I get here at 10 a.m., I have to park in the third or fourth floor of the garage.”
Senior accounting major Lehanne Paul has also had trouble finding parking and thinks that, as a solution, NSU should offer a mix of in-person classes and Zoom classes again (otherwise known as blended classes) or expand the parking lots.
“Put more classes on zoom,” said Paul. “They should also really add more parking spots.”
St. Aubyn Lue, Public Safety manager of special events, said the students who have complained about parking availability are new to the NSU area. Lue said that low parking availability happens when all students want to park in the busy parking lots, like near the Carl DeSantis Building or the University Center.
“It’s usually students who are not familiar with the area who want to park in certain areas, but the campus has a lot of parking,” Lue said. It’s just because they probably need to park right in front of DeSantis, or they don’t want to park in a garage.”
Public Safety connects the lack of parking availability in the popular lots to the large freshman class this semester.
Lauren Siwek, admissions representative, said there are so many new students this semester because NSU met its large goal for enrollment. NSU also brought in a large freshman class in 2018, and there was an accompanying increase in student violations of parking regulations.
NSU built a new parking garage next to the just recently constructed Mako Hall that same year to try to accommodate the increased number of students. But in 2019, there was as even larger freshman class, and that trend has continued.
Siwek said that despite the decrease in parking availability, a higher student population is beneficial for the university.
“More students, more money, more organizations and more growth,” Siwek said.
Paul Turner, director of public safety, said the university may consider building another parking garage in the future.
“There may be plans in the university’s master plan to do that as we continue to grow,” said Turner.
Shane Lam, assistant director of Public Safety, said parking at NSU has not yet reached full capacity, noting that space is often available in lesser-used lots and garages in the western part of campus.
“Our HPD and our West Garage– there is plenty of availability there,” said Lam. “Tuesdays and Wednesdays are generally the peak times that we have seen this semester where it is busier than other days of the week.”
Lue said that Public Safety understands the difficulties and is there to support students.
He believes the parking issues will die down as the year goes on and newer students get more accustomed to the NSU campus.
“The lots are basically full until the semester slows down,” said Lue. “That is when everybody gets a grasp on where to park.”
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