Why CSU Needs Less Parking, Not More

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that CSU doesn’t have a parking problem. Sit around on campus for more than ten minutes and I will guarantee that you will overhear somebody complain about the short-term vehicle storage struggle as they wander to their next class. And of course, they’re right. We do have a problem with parking.

We have way too much of it.

Now, now, put the murder axe away. I can explain. There are actually two different parts to this, but I’ll start with the numbers. First, let's look at how planning firms determine how much parking is needed for a parcel.

1. Count how many cars use the current parking supply at the busiest times of the day.

2. Have enough space for all those people, plus a 10% surplus of bonus spots (just in case).

So, how many spots should CSU have available at any given time according to that 10% rule? Well, we start with 3,004 spots to cover the busiest times. Then, to be safe, we add that extra 10% to get 3,304 spots.*

But wait- CSU actually has almost 130 more spots on top of the surplus. At any given time, then, we have around 400 open parking spaces on campus. That seems like overkill to me.

“Lies!” you shout, swinging your murder axe at me. “If that’s true, then why am I never able to find any parking when I come to campus? Where are those 400 spots?”

They’re there. They’re just not in the most convenient of places. The truth is that those lots close to campus just fill up very quickly. There are always plenty upon plenty of parking spaces- they’re just over by plant ops or the soccer fields. Driving around campus for twenty minutes looking for parking isn’t really an excuse.

If instead of circling the parking garage six times waiting for somebody to pull out, drivers would just go straight to the plant-ops or tennis center parking lots, those twenty minutes would be cut in half, and that includes the walk (no point on main campus is more than a 10-minute walk from any other point).

So those are the numbers. Numerically, we know that CSU actually has too many parking spots. But I want to go beyond that. I want to get kind of hippy-dippy and talk about how our campus should make us feel.

Well, I feel like parking lots suck.

There’s nothing more physically and emotionally draining that looking at a big expanse of dirty asphalt, and don’t know about you, but I want to like my school. I want to like where I live and work. I feel like I’m entitled to that. I’m paying to be here, and so are you. Who would want to spend so much time at a place that was boring or ugly to look at, especially if they could choose not to?

I want you to check out this image of Georgia College’s campus.

Now look at this photo of Valdosta State’s.

Notice what you don’t see? Huge arid deserts of sun-baking cars. These other schools are in our conference. They’re our regional peers, and yet their campuses are much more unified than ours. They are much more walkable and green, much more active, much more vibrant and alive with student activity.

That’s because these schools relegate parking to the background. Students accept that if they’re going to drive, they’re going to need to park a little way away and walk for a few minutes. Most students just buy a cheap Walmart bike and ride to campus, or take the shuttles.

In exchange for those parking lots, we get more room for restaurants, new classrooms and green spaces, trees, gardens and gathering spaces. There’s more activity, more events, more free food, more campus spirit and unity. People see friends more often on campus and exercise more just by walking. They breathe easier, too, since the noxious exhaust from a few thousand cars has moved away from the college center.

These are the things we get out of the trade. All of those benefits in exchange for five minutes extra of walking to get to class. So why haven’t we done it?

That’s the real parking problem for CSU.

*Numbers calculated in 2012. Counts may have shifted slightly.

This article is part of a new opinion column on urban development from The Saber called "Scott Yells at Traffic."