A not-so-friendly line may greet students making a last-minute trip to the OU Parking and Transit Services office this week, but buying the parking permit is only part of a student’s parking dilemma.
For thousands of students, back-to-school isn’t complete until they spend nearly $200 to be able to park on campus.
However, the next step for students is the challenging task of figuring out where to park.
University College freshman Kyle Oldham said his parking experience was hectic due to the lack of spaces.
“I’ve been having to park way out in the hot sun,” Oldham said. “They need more parking spots.”
Despite regular complaints about the lack of parking, OU Parking and Transit Services spokeswoman Vicky Holland said there should always be space.
There are 10,148 parking permits available to students each year, Holland said. Although the freshman class is composed of more than 4,000 students, there have not been changes made to parking yet. There are never more students than parking permits, she said.
“We still have the same number of parking spots,” Holland said.
Some students have their own ideas for fixing the parking situation.
“They need a parking garage for each dorm,” University College freshman Nicholas Curry said.
Curry said in his short time on campus, he is often scouting for a spot and parking a hundred yards or more away from his destination.
Holland said finding a good space on campus is all about being proactive.
“If your class starts early, around 8 a.m., I’d buy a parking permit and probably park in one of the parking garages where your car is safe from the weather,” Holland said.
Holland advised using the CART bus services for students arriving on campus in the afternoon to avoid searching for close available parking spaces.
Students can park in Lloyd Noble Center’s 1,200 spaces and ride the CART at no additional cost, according to Daily archives.
And forking over the cash for a permit has its perks.
Students can look forward to free gameday parking for anyone with an OU parking permit. All others will be charged a $15 fee.
Avoiding parking citations remains a concern for any student overwhelmed by where not to park or how much to pay a meter. Students do have the option to appeal or waive citations on a first offense.
Students may view a “hot spot” map available on the OU Parking Services web page to find an appropriate lot.
And though it is a longer walk for many, Holland assures students with a permit may always park at the Duck Pond and Jenkins Avenue parking lot if nowhere else is available.
LINK: To view OU Parking and Transit Services' "hot spot" map, click here.
The Oklahoma Daily is pleased to provide you the opportunity to share your thoughts about this article. We encourage lively debate on the issues of the day, but we ask you refrain from using profanity or other offensive speech, engaging in personal attacks or name-calling, posting advertising, or straying from the topic at hand. To comment, you must be a registered user of OUDaily.com. Thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register
Chirpit 9 months ago
Also, ALL of the Lloyd Noble parking lot used to be free. Now only the blocks immediately adjacent to the CART stop are free. That is why there are "still the same number of parking spaces" in spite of the construction going on in the multipurpose lot south of the South Oval.
dodgeman 9 months ago
parking has is and will always be a joke at OU. there might be a free parking space somewhere, but do you want to spend 4 hours finding it? i cant count how many times i have left an hour before my class only to be late because i found a spot in my 3rd parking lot... great, glad my 200 bucks paid for SO MUCH... parking should be sold by the space, you should buy a specific space at a specific garage, cheaper if your not parking in a garage. and that should be how it is. i wised up and started paying a guy half that for a specific guaranteed space behind his house right behind the elm parking garage best money I ever spent while at OU...