Alison Trautmann
Editor-in-Chief

Driving through campus, one sees cars everywhere. On a normal weekday, every spot in the center of campus has a car parked within its lines. The scores of cars stretch out in front of Nazareth student center, in the aptly named “pit” parking lot and other spots around campus. But what do you do when every spot seems to be taken and why does this seem to be happening very frequently?

Mike Finegan, Chief of Security, says that there are enough parking spaces for everyone. The problem is not the availability but the convenience of the spots in question. The further away you park, the more likely it is you will be able to find a spot more easily.

“The earlier you come, the more likely you are to get a spot closer to your class” said Finegan. However, for those who come later in the day, Finegan recommends automatically looking for a spot in the more distant lots such as near the baseball fields. Parking is far easier now that Maxis Road allows students to cut through campus. The further away from central campus you go, the more likely it is that you will be able to find a spot quickly.

Security knows that students are on a time schedule. The first week, campus is packed with cars because people are coming for reasons other than class such as parking permits and buying books from the bookstore. If you are looking for a spot and can’t seem to find one, call security and they will radio out to find where there are parking spots.

There are 1685 spots on campus; they just are not all close to where people need them. If everyone that purchases a parking permit comes on campus, then there would probably be a problem. Security sold 800 commuter passes this semester alone. However, not everyone is here for classes at the same time. For some students, the problem is the price of the parking pass.

Security says that the money paid for a parking pass enables you to park on Marywood’s campus, it does not necessarily guarantee you a parking spot. Students at nearby colleges have to pay substantially more to park on campus. AT King’s College, their parking permits costs $150 for two semesters and the University of Scranton charges $200 for two semesters. At Marywood, the security office does not benefit from the parking passes, the price is set by the Board of Directors and the money goes into a general fund in the cashier’s office.

“Parking is an issue everywhere you go, not just on college campuses” said Finegan. In reference to the parking situation an anonymous source said “It stinks.” However, there doesn’t seem much opportunity to improve the situation at the moment. Being blocked by houses, Marywood is unable to expand much further with regards to convenient parking spaces.