Parking spaces have become more limited on campus due to the construction of the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, and this lack of parking has created frustration among the university’s student commuters, as many have not been able to find open spots around campus.
The construction has closed Lot O on South Campus, eliminating a parking lot of roughly 195 spots designated for commuter students and staff. The main parking lot assigned for commuters is the Anderson Parking Facility, which is shared with university residents.
This comes as students were informed via OneStThomas that Anderson Parking Facility will be closed for incoming parking at 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 7, for an admitted students event, and will not reopen until 6 p.m.
St. Thomas sophomore Blake Hartfiel, who commutes to campus, wrote in an email to TommieMedia that he has encountered difficulties parking. He has contacted Parking Services multiple times, only to hear that they have no set plan for the lack of on-campus parking.
“As a result of these decisions, students, including myself, feel that the university administration does not care about the student body and puts profits above all else. This is evident as they have no plans to issue partial refunds on parking permits despite significantly reducing the parking available,” Hartfiel wrote.
According to Diana Kaardal, the director of Transportation and Parking Services, the university is continuously looking at the parking activity on campus and how the construction of the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena has affected commuter students.
“(We are) trying to increase communications, knowing that that’s critical. We recognize that before the semester even got started that communication was going to be really important,” Kaardal said.
Calls and emails to Parking Services from upset students looking for advice on where to park have increased, according to Kaardal, but Parking Services can only do so much to address this issue, as the office is trying to accommodate students by allowing them to have permits to be able to park on campus.
Kardaal said that this year may be the last year that all students who applied for a parking pass can get one.
“In previous years and this year, we knew it would be the last year we’d be able to do this. But we’ve tried to make as much (parking) available as possible,” Kaardal said.
But even inside Anderson Parking Facility, which has 670 parking spaces, not all spots are taken up by commuter students.
Throughout Anderson Parking Facility, there are multiple vans and trailers owned by the university taking up spots, as well as parked cars that have collected dust and bundles of tickets under the windshield wipers.
Events on campus — such as admissions events and job fairs — have made parking even more difficult for commuter students; the top two floors of the Anderson Parking Facility were reserved for event parking on Feb. 19.
“We’re sympathetic and listen, give answers if we can, a lot of it is just listening. There’s not necessarily much that we can do to change things for them,” Kaardal said.
Campus residents can park in Morrison R2 and R3 levels, Lot U behind 2051 Grand Ave. and the lower level of Anderson Parking Facility.
According to Kaardal, as of Feb. 14, 2024, there were 50 to 60 open parking spaces available in R3 of Morrison, allowing more residents to park on North Campus, freeing up space for commuters.
“What we’re looking at is that people are not utilizing the rest of the parking that’s available,” Kaardal said.
TommieMedia reporters observed that on Feb. 12, 2024, between 3:30 and 4 p.m., there were 151 empty spots across all levels.
(Megan Farrell/Tommiemedia)
Kaardal said that students should carpool and use public transportation when big events occur on campus. She also recommends commuters get to campus earlier than usual and plan on seeing full parking lots.
Parking Services recommended that commuters get to campus early if possible, to avoid the traffic of events and other students driving to campus. Harfiel has been doing just that, to increase his likelihood of getting a parking spot.
“I decided to always arrive between 9:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. despite my classes not starting until 1:35 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays,” Hartfiel wrote.
Parking Services have sent emails to students throughout the semester to give them advice on what to expect when coming to campus and what times to arrive to have the possibility of attaining a spot.
“If you can adjust your schedule a little bit to come earlier or later in the evening, I think that’s going to be the biggest help,” Kaardal said.
Abby Madsen can be reached at mads3817@stthomas.edu.