Parking creates stress amongst students

Illustration by Rebecca Cho

Lindsay Rahn, a student who has attended UVU for over three years, was pulling into a parking stall by the Liberal Arts Building Wednesday morning, when another driver almost collided with her car and stole the parking spot as she was pulling into the stall.

“I was circling around, waiting for a spot, and I followed a lady to her car so that I could park there. As I was going to pull in, a lady, who was probably late, just swooped right into my spot,” said Rahn. “I honked at her and said ‘hey, this is where I was going to park. I’ve been waiting for this spot,’ and she just said, ‘sorry’ and left.”

As of Aug. 31, UVU has 31,039 students enrolled in the institution, as compared to the 29,969 enrolled last fall, making it the largest institution of higher education in Utah. According to a Frank Young, associate vice president of facilities planning, students are allocated 4,855 parking stalls. Meaning, there is one stall for every six students.

Brian Dohner, a third-year UVU student, said, “It could definitely be managed a little bit better. I have a 9 a.m. class and get here an hour early.”

Melissa Ruiz, a UVU student, recalled being 20 minutes late to her first morning class because she couldn’t find parking in the yellow-permit areas. Ruiz had to park in the purple-permit parking lot and found it frustrating.

According to Birch Eve, student body president of UVU, lack of space is the main factor as to why it’s difficult for UVU to add more parking for students.

“We’re landlocked as a university, meaning that we have a certain amount of acreage here,” said Eve.

Birch advises students to get to school earlier to secure a parking stall.

“Timing is everything. Obviously, a lot of people come and go,” said Eve. “I usually get to school at 7 in the morning, and I can usually find a parking spot.”

On what students can do to voice their concerns over UVU parking, it’s a two-way street and communication amongst students and the institution is key, said Eve.

After having her parking spot stolen from her, Rahn said, “I was livid. Luckily, I found a spot right near there because people are leaving class now, but I was pretty upset. I think there should be some way to regulate UVU student parking better.”