Berndt: Parking on SDSU campus is a joke
October 22, 2019
As a student who has never lived on campus and has dealt with parking for a year and a half, I feel that parking at SDSU could be made better for the people attending or working here.
Have you ever met someone who likes parking on the SDSU campus?
The answer is no. Parking at SDSU is a joke.
Professors have to pay for parking permits that are already expensive, and there is no guarantee that you will get a parking spot.
The only way that you can guarantee a parking spot is if you buy a reserved parking permit for $292 because they are sold one-to-one (one car per parking spot).
Even if you want to pay for a reserved spot, there is no promise that you will be getting the permit because there is a wait list!
Not only do students have to pay for permits, but employees are also paying for a commuter parking spot, and that doesn’t mean they will actually have a place to park.
According to the sdstate.edu permit information, “The fees paid for permits are registration fees and do not reserve or guarantee a parking stall in specific parking lots.”
Students who are already paying to be in college do not appreciate paying more to park somewhere that there will more than likely not be a parking spot. I have not talked to a student who has enjoyed the parking on this campus.
Why would you charge $153 to not be guaranteed a parking spot?
There are 11 commuter parking lots, 13 reserved lots and 10 economy lots on campus. At least one of those commuters lots are closed for construction and will not be reopened because there is a building going up in its place.
It states on the permit information page from sdstate.edu that lack of parking spot doesn’t mean you won’t get a ticket. It also says you need to come early enough to get a spot.
“Purchasing a commuter permit does not reserve nor guarantee a parking stall in a specific parking lot. Please plan ahead and allow sufficient time to walk to your desired destination.”
I have gotten more tickets than I am proud of, but when I got a ticket and the website to pay the ticket doesn’t work, I get a little more irritated about the parking here.
Along with employees and commuting students, campus residents also have to deal with the horrors of SDSU parking.
Campus residents have to pay $153 for the residence hall parking lots AND have to move their cars from the lot that they pay for during home football games. If the students’ cars aren’t moved, they could be ticketed and towed.
Students have had their cars towed before and had to pay $90+ to get their car back, and they weren’t even parked in a lot that wasn’t what they paid for!
The alternatives that SDSU offers are walking (well, we are in South Dakota where almost half of the school year is winter), riding your bike, Union pay lot which is $12 a day or $1.50 an hour and parking on side streets near campus.
I feel that these ‘alternatives’ have flaws to them, but even though I hate parking on campus, I still pay for a lot AND still pay my tickets.
I do not enjoy parking on campus, and I cannot wait for the day that I graduate so I no longer have to deal with the joke of parking here.
Victoria Berndt is a reporter at The Collegian and can be reached at [email protected]
Peggy Segler • Oct 25, 2019 at 10:55 am
Thanks for such a good article.
John Doe • Oct 24, 2019 at 9:00 pm
This whole article you complained about parking without offering a solution. You gotta at least offer a solution to make your complaint relevant.
Andrea • Oct 24, 2019 at 9:56 am
Excellent, well said.
RENAE JORGENSON • Oct 24, 2019 at 8:01 am
Its sad that one of the commuter lots close to my daughters dorm is 90% empty whenever I drive by and yet my daughter who pays for a parking permit has to park on the street sometimes four blocks away.
Mackenzie S • Oct 23, 2019 at 9:30 pm
Bottom line is, the school needs to think hard about parking garages. They only have so much room and they will only be getting bigger. I dealt with on campus parking for two years and it was awful. I ended up just parking a block away on the street and walking to class early.
Laura Moss • Oct 23, 2019 at 9:16 pm
I agree with you also it is extremely difficult for handicapped people to find a parking spot. We can not walk long distances. We are supposed to be able to park in any parking spot in any lot except reserved spots. I graduated in 2007 and it was a lot easier for me because I could drive to most of my classes, but now most of the roads in the interior of the campus are gone. I could drive from Rotunda to Biostress and many other buildings. Now you can’t even get to the Dairy Bar because they took away that road. I think that the Planning people on campus have gone to far in building all the new buildings and into trying to turn the campus into a walking campus.