Overhead view of Utica University showing ways to access academic buildings and complexes from each parking lot. Photo courtesy of Shad Crowe.

For many campus commuters, parking spaces have been hard to find, potentially leading students to be late to class. The campus has three main parking lots, A-C, that wrap around the academic complexes, available for commuters, faculty and staff. 

These parking lots tend to fill up quickly, causing the search for an open spot longer than usual for students. 

According to Shad Crowe, vice president of facilitates and emergency management, the issues surrounding campus parking are mainly due to unused areas that seem to be “too far away” and most of us want to avoid “walking any farther than necessary” for the sake of arriving on time.  

”The university offers plenty of parking opportunities, but like parking everywhere, there are close spots and there are those that are not as close,” Crowe said.   

Julie Savitskiy, a sophomore commuter, said when she arrives for her 8:30 a.m. classes, the parking lots are already full. She is also concerned about the presence of potholes in some of the parking areas. 

“I’ve heard other people complaining that they need to park close to the admissions office because they don’t want to take the chance to find another parking space,” Savitskiy said. “The parking lots that are open have horrible potholes and sometimes they’re not visible.” 

Particularly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, commuters appear to have more difficulty finding parking. Morgan Kelly, a junior commuter, said that compared to other days of the week, these days are more “busy.”

“Parking is so hectic during the week for commuters, there’s not enough spots at all,” Kelly said. 

The design of the campus parking lots allows for access to all academic buildings and complexes, although sometimes hard to map out. Crowe said after he studied the map, he was able to determine the shortest distance to buildings from almost anywhere and how to get there quickly. 

“There are potentially shorter distances between parking lots and buildings that often go unnoticed or are not considered,” Crowe said. “Becoming aware of those walkways, doors, and exits that you may not have used in the past, or weren’t aware of, can definitely help ease the stress if you end up needing to park a bit farther away than you were hoping.”

In comparison to parking regulations at similar universities, Utica has relatively short walking distances and flexible parking restrictions such as not charging a fee for parking on campus. According to Crowe, there are no plans to expand available spaces for students.  

“Sometimes we might have to walk a few more steps than we would like,” Crowe said. “But we are still very fortunate to have a much shorter walk to our buildings than most places.”