By Ayana Bessard, Staff Writer

Published Sep. 3, 2014

Parking at UNCG.  We all hate it. Yet, the administration does nothing to make it more inexpensive and easier on the thousands of students who live on campus and rely on the designated lots on campus to get to class on time.

According to the US News profile of UNCG, only 30 percent of our 14,674 students live on campus.

This means that there are roughly 10,270 students commuting to campus at some point throughout the week.

Of course, parking doesn’t only concern those of us who live off-campus.  So, let’s begin with the inconvenience of parking for students who happen to live on-campus.

According to our university’s Parking Management website, there are four parking options students living on-campus can choose from; and, as many of you know, none of them cost less than $150.

The first is an EB pass, which forces you to park in a lot far from campus off of Lee Street. In order to just get there you’d have to catch the Park and Ride busses or the EB shuttle in time, and have to deal with limited access to their vehicle.

The next two options for students living on campus are the B and VB passes, which cost a whopping $311 a piece.  These permits allow parking in most of the large lots on campus, like the ones behind Jefferson Suites and the Oakland parking deck.

The problem with these particular passes is that the parking lots associated with them never have enough open spaces. Never!

There is simply no credible reason as to why any student should spend $311 to not have a parking space.

If you don’t want to deal with the inconvenience of the parking lots scattered in random areas around the campus, you can also purchase a permit for one of the three parking decks located on campus; that is, as long as you can avoid being waitlisted.

Of course, most students won’t even consider this option because they cost $458!  School administrators must think we’re made of money!

While this may seem bad to those of us living on-campus or close to campus, we need to put ourselves in the shoes of a commuter, who undoubtedly has it the worst.

The first option for commuters is a C pass, but in the description of that it says, “Ideal for 8am classes” and that there are “limited spaces after 8:30 am.”

Keep in mind that the C lots are typically the same as the B lots, and the lots are already halfway filled from the on-campus residents’ cars. So C permit buyers, you’re paying $311 to hopefully get a parking spot for 30 minutes. Great investment.

Like many other students, commuter Destiny Martin is in disagreement with UNCG parking in general. She explained, “I don’t like that there just aren’t enough spaces around campus period. And if you do pay for the $300-$500 for a parking pass, there’s still no guarantee that you will find a spot. It’s ridiculous. Then we have to park in 2 hour parking places or at [parking] meters.”

The 2-hour parking is extremely inconvenient. You can spend a lot of time looking for the spaces, but during peak class time, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., they just aren’t there.

And it’s only worth it if you only have one class or you’re only going to be on campus for two hours.

If not, you have to go back, move your car, and spend 15 minutes looking for another spot.

And trust me, students will do that if they have to!

Meters can be convenient if you don’t have a parking pass and you’re only going to be on campus for a small amount of time. The maximum time you can use a meter is 2 hours, and it cost $2 for two hours, which isn’t bad for someone to pay every now and then.

However, I wouldn’t want to spend a dime on parking if I’ve already paid $180 or more for a permit.

That’s ridiculous.