STORY BY COURTNEY DAY
A hot topic of conversation on campus always seems to be the one of parking.
People getting tickets, appealing tickets, struggling to find a spot, and a multitude of other things goes to show parking at Drake is tough, and it’s tough to get it right.
There are two main problems I have with parking at Drake.
My first problem is parking passes. Parking passes are never something fun to pay for, and parking spaces are never fun to find.
After forking over the $250 for my parking pass this year, I received a sticker in return.
In years prior to 2015, Drake has handed out hanging tags to place on your review mirror. I heard numerous people say it didn’t block their view as much, or didn’t distract them.
But I found this far from the truth.
The hanging tag of previous years never seemed to be a problem for me. It was short enough that while driving I forgot it was even there half the time.
These silly window clings? Those I notice.
Every time I glance in my review mirror to see behind me, it catches my eye. Every time I think something is behind me, or stuck on my window. I don’t find it any less distracting; in fact, it is more distracting for me as a driver.
The second problem is the lack of available parking.
According to US News, 65% of Drake students have cars on campus. I don’t know exactly how many spots are available on campus, but somehow I don’t feel like there is enough.
Whether you have a commuter or a residential parking pass, I know we have all been in the situation of driving around a parking lot for 20 minutes before finally giving up and having to park a mile away, on the street.
What is annoying about this is the fact that I’m paying for a parking spot, and yet there isn’t one for me to park in. When purchasing your parking pass it is stated “A parking pass does not guarantee you a parking space,” but something about this seems weird to me.
Personally, I don’t think the university should sell more parking passes than they have spots. It’s unfair to the students to be paying for a spot if there ends up being 50 less parking spots than there are for students with cars. It’s annoying, frustrating and unfair when we are paying the amount we do to park on campus.
The other annoying part of being a student who pays for a parking campus is seeing cars in a parking space — without a parking pass.
Overall, Drake does the best they can when ticketing cars. However, during special events like Parents Weekend or Relays, tickets don’t seem to happen.
It is infuriating as a student who has paid for a parking spot and has nowhere to park.
I, like many students, am actually scared to go out and move my car to go to work or buy groceries.
Whether it’s changing the way tickets are handed out, reassigning parking lots or simply selling less parking passes, the parking situation at Drake is definitely something that needs to be fixed.
