You know that feeling when you can’t find a parking spot at the grocery store, and you circle the parking lot back and forth hoping you’ll catch somebody leaving?
Yeah, well that’s how I feel sometimes when there are games on Makuvek Field. However, the difference between my experience and going food shopping is that you’re not paying $400 to park at the grocery store.
Let me just say: first-world problems here. I was lucky enough to be chosen for Premium Parking (parking for North Campus residents closest to the dorms), so I have quick access to my car whereas others do not. 95% of the time, I have no problems parking in the red spots on W. Laurel Street. However, I can’t even begin to describe how frustrating it is when I come back to campus and I can’t find a parking spot because spectators for a sporting event are taking up spots.
And don’t get me wrong, I have no issue with our sports teams or their games.
I think that the Moravian athletics department is wonderful, and our sports teams deserve much more recognition. The fact that Moravian is able to invite its opponents here and welcome them is great to see. It makes our campus feel much more active, and I appreciate the fact that sports help to expand our campus community!
…but that doesn’t take away from the fact that spectators are parking where they shouldn’t.
The red spots are reserved for resident students. Same with Lot B across the street from the library. When people are parked there who didn’t pay to park there, it takes away spots from people who did pay.
There are other places on campus for visitors to park, yet some people see a spot close to the field and take it without a second thought. Because those spots are extremely limited, it can become an issue where students with premium parking have nowhere to park.
And let me be clear here: parking in Lot B is not an option. Those are reserved for resident students who either didn’t get premium parking or didn’t want premium parking. If I were to park there, it would not only take away a spot from someone who is supposed to be there but also risk a ticket for my car.
Lot X? Again, not an option. I could risk getting a ticket because that lot is reserved for commuters. Even if it’s after hours or on the weekend, I don’t have permission to park there.
There is Lot A, which is only unavailable until about 4 p.m. during weekdays, but why should I have to park halfway across campus when I paid to not do that?
It’s totally fair to say that I should just make sure I stay on campus when there’s going to be a game to ensure that I don’t lose my spot. It’s true that many of my necessities are available without having to drive anywhere.
However, what if there’s something that absolutely needs my attention off campus, and when I get back, there’s nowhere to park (which has happened to me before)? I don’t want to feel pressured to stay on campus during games, but at this point, I feel like I have to because I don’t want to run into a situation where I’m wasting gas driving around and trying to find a parking spot when there isn’t one.
If we are unable to use a lot or a lot is being used for something else, we tend to get an email from campus parking enforcement informing us. However, I never receive emails when it comes to parking for games, which makes it an unknown. If I don’t receive an email or there isn’t a sign telling me to not use the red spots, I assume that only people with the correct permit may park there.
I’ll let you in on a little story. I was coming back to campus, and as you probably guessed, there was a game going on.
Well, I drove around for a solid fifteen minutes before finally seeing a beautiful spot left open just for me. I was fuming at this point, so I quickly (but also safely) made my way to the open spot. I snuck right in and breathed a sigh of relief.
As I got out of my car, a woman pulled up and rolled down her window. She then proceeded to yell at me because she wanted to park there. This woman who didn’t have a permit and wasn’t even a student was yelling at me for parking in a spot I had paid for. She was here for her son at the game or something; I wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying. I was too flabbergasted that she had the gall to yell at me for something she was clearly in the wrong about. Anyway, it was certainly an inspiration for me to write this rant, if you couldn’t tell…
I like to think of this as a soft rant. I understand that parking is limited, and sometimes people park without thinking about it. It would be hypocritical if I didn’t admit that I have done that before. It happens from time to time, and that’s okay. But when it is consistently a problem and nothing is done about it, then I feel like there’s an issue.
I don’t want to discourage guests from coming to campus during games, I just want them to take a closer look at the signage and park in places that are appropriate for them to park in. I don’t want to have to make the decision between losing gas or getting a ticket, and let me be real, I have come very close to making it.
