As the first semester at Oswego State begins, one complaint the university parking office has received for multiple years is again being vocalized by students as they obtain their parking permits: the lack of parking spaces available on campus.
One junior, Brenton Southwick, said he believes there are not enough parking spots on campus and more spots need to be created.
“I have to park in areas that are farther away than I want to be,” Southwick said. “[The] amount of residential parking heavily outweighs that of commuter parking”.
Senior Ryan Knaul said the situation could improve and the only lots he seems to be able to consistently use are the lots near Culkin Hall.
This complaint is mostly being made by the students who have to commute every day. It is a familiar one for both the UP and the parking office. Police Chief John Rossi said the number of commuter parking spaces is adequate, and that they have no plans to expand parking lots here at the college.
Rossi said the college experiences some peak times, where the parking lots do fill or reach capacity. These times usually take place on Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. These are due to the majority of day-classes taking place during those times.
“[The college is] looking to even out the class schedule and possibly enhance earlier morning and later afternoon classes in the future,” Rossi said.
Rossi said he wants to make students aware there is a low-cost option for commuters: the Park and Ride lot, which is located at lot seven near Romney Field House. This option allows students to take one of the many free campus shuttles to the Marano Campus Center. The permit also allows students to park in employee parking lots from midnight on weekdays. The permit is available at the University parking office for $20.80 for the whole academic year. Additionally, students can check the GoCentro app on their phones for GPS tracking of all of the university buses.
UP also has a parking committee which meets twice a semester with the goal of getting input from students on any changes or issues that may be noticed.
According to the university parking office, the college wants to stress that the parking lot behind the Newman Center is almost always empty and is available for commuting students.
Rossi encouraged any students who have legitimate issues with commuter parking to bring the problem to UP so they can properly assist them.
Photo bt Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian
