Students vehicles sit idle in the usually full McComsey parking lot. Photo courtesy of Jenna Karr
Jenna Karr
Staff Writer
Millersville University students are struggling with more than just their studies and finances this semester. They are also struggling with finding parking spots on campus.
Many students are saying that they have to circle around parking lots multiple times in order to find a space that is somewhat close to the building where their classes reside. A previous Snapper article reported that there is a total of 1,776 parking spaces available for commuters on campus. However students claim that some days that is not enough.
“I only have classes in the Hash building,” senior Lauren Rogers says. “This semester I’ve noticed it’s been harder to find a parking spot. Especially between 10am and 11am.”
Rogers has a twenty-minute commute to campus, but adding the time it takes to find a parking space, she estimates that it takes her fifty minutes to get to class. So if she needs to be in class by 11am, she needs to leave her house no later than 10:05am if she wants to be on time. That also assumes there are no traffic problems along the way. Students who live on campus do not have to worry about a long commute. Most of them walk to their classes or take the Millersville shuttle bus. But just because students live on campus does not mean they have no need for a parking permit.
“Even though I lived on campus, I still needed my car,” Josie Savicky, a 2021 MU graduate says. “I worked immediately after class, so I didn’t have time to walk back to my dorm to get my car.”
Despite having a much shorter commute to school, Savicky needed to give herself ample time to find a parking spot. She claimed that there were many times she was late to class because she could not find one. The longest time it took her to find a parking spot was twenty-five minutes.
Savicky pointed out that McComsey and Luek Hall were the worst areas to find parking.
“One time I was already ten minutes late for class and I couldn’t find a parking space, so I just parked in a yellow space and ended up getting ticketed,” she says.
Whether students live on campus or commute, hunting for a parking spot takes precious time.
“This problem needs fixed,” Rogers says. “I know they can’t tear down buildings to make more space, but I think they need to reevaluate the plan they have now.”
Savicky proposed that including a parking garage closer to the academic buildings would be nice because “a parking garage is many floors rather than just one.”
If students have any comments or questions regarding Millersville University’s parking situation, they are allowed to contact the Student Government Association.
