Student parking is such a pain . . . still

On Tuesday, in an attempt to be a good student and graduate assistant, I left my apartment one full hour before I was scheduled to be at work, even though it only takes me 10 minutes or less to get to campus. I thought, "hey, I'll get in early and get some extra work done."

Apparently, I thought wrong. Until I pulled onto campus that morning, I had been having a great day.

Instead of getting in early, I arrived at my office in College Hall just in time for my shift to start after spending 45 minutes driving around campus looking for a parking spot. My search included three laps around the Forbes Garage because my surface parking pass had failed me once again.

For a campus of Duquesne's size, driving around looking for one parking spot for more than 10 minutes is both outrageous and frustrating. It's not uncommon, though.

With approximately 425 surface spots,  one eight-floor and 11-floor parking garages open to anyone who purchases a permit, you'd think Duquesne would have learned how to better regulate its minimal amount of parking spaces alongside the number of passes it sells for $677.00 for two semesters. Unfortunately for all who drive to and from campus, they have not.

Every day, I drive up and down streets of campus looking for a spot to park. Every day, I see the same old, unused police car taking up a precious spot in the lot under the Locust Garage and cars parked in what are supposed to be driving lanes in the Forbes Lot.

I see cars without parking passes taking up one of the spots I've paid $516 to park my car in, spots that that have been lost to "campus beautification" and reserved signs that limit our choices even further.

Even more disappointing than reserved and disappearing spots are the ones that are blocked off in the Forbes parking lot on a game day.

If you've never seen this particular occurrence, here's how it goes: On particular days when one of Duquesne's basketball teams hosts a game at the Palumbo Center, the University will set up signs in the Forbes lot next to the Power Center reserving about half the lot for campus visitors to pay $20 to park in. These signs say that if your car is parked behind the sign after 4 p.m., you'll be ticketed.

"But I paid $516 [with graduate assistant discounts]for a parking permit already," you say. "I am supposed to be able to park in this surface lot whenever I need to. Why would Duquesne charge twice for this same spot, especially when parking is so inadequate already?"

You may conclude that that spot is rightfully yours, since you paid for it, but if you park behind those signs, permit or not, you can expect a yellow envelope on your windshield when you come back, demanding payment to Duquesne University for your apparent violation.

In addition to being a great source of frustration, navigating the Forbes lot can be hazardous as well. As I was on the prowl for a spot on Tuesday, another student came around a tight corner too quickly and we almost collided. Theoretically, we should have both been able to drive in the same aisle. Unfortunately for us, other drivers had decided to disregard the white lines and park wherever there was space—because, I'm sure, they could not find a legal spot otherwise. But in this case, their need to create their own parking spots threatened other drivers' safety.

I feel as though I have seen it all when it comes to "creative parking" at Duquesne. I witnessed one person attempt to park their car perpendicularly between two cars parked parallel to each other. And on Tuesday, I saw two cars sharing the same parallel parking spot.

The SGA has attempted to address this issue by initiating the South Side shuttle, but that only helps a very select group of students. Students who live in other parts of the city aren't supposed to park on South Side streets to pick up the shuttle.

Those of us who aren't fortunate enough to catch a shuttle to campus in our neighborhoods must pay more than $500 just to hope that we might be able to find a spot on campus every day, usually after a search. And when that doesn't work, we must resort to creativity.

After 45 minutes and just before I began to beat my head against my steering wheel, I found a spot. It may have been in the darkest, most secluded part of campus, but it was open and that's good enough for me.

Finding a parking spot can be a hassle for anyone. For Duquesne students, it's sometimes the difference between a good day and a bad one.