It is a known fact that parking is one of Piedmont’s biggest issues and has been for many years. Students will be lined up bumper to bumper waiting for their turn to try to get a parking spot.
In hopes of solving this issue, Campus Police enforced colored sticks to direct commuters and residents based on their student residence building. Students who live in the upper hill and the village with gold stickers are considered commuters, while those who live closer to academic buildings with green stickers are considered residents.
Campus police stated that only students with gold stickers are allowed to drive and park on campus, while those with green stickers are supposed to walk to allow more parking for commuter students, especially those who do not live on campus at all.
Campus police announced they would issue tickets and warnings to all students who broke this rule to keep parking to a minimum and hold students accountable.
This rule first came into effect in the 24-25 school year, after parking was one of the biggest issues during the 23-24 school year. As the semester began in the fall, the rule seemed to be working well; there was ample parking and no issues. Every now and then, parking would be limited, but normally it would clear out quickly.
However, as the weather got cold and the seasons started changing, more and more residents began driving to campus and parking once again became an issue. As this began, Campus police started handing out tickets every now and then, but it was not enough to stop residents, who would back their cars in so the sticker wouldn’t be visible or simply take the sticker off.
In my opinion, parking has been the worst it has ever been in the last few months, and many students have expressed their concerns about residents taking all the parking on the Piedmont app and on anonymous school apps, but no effort has been made to fix the problem.
In fact, in recent weeks, campus police has been seen handing out tickets to commuters who have to find their own parking spot or park in the red lot, but not to residents who take all the parking.
Not only does it cause students to be late to class because of the lack of parking, but it also increases the risk of accidents due to the abundance of cars in small spaces. Commuters should not have to arrive on campus twenty minutes early to try to get a parking spot that is not guaranteed in order to make it to class on time.
The question now is whether the rule will be more strictly enforced next semester when students return in the fall.
As long as residents can get away with parking on campus, the issue will continue to be an ongoing problem for all students. For those who live near the academic buildings, it is an easy walk, but those who live on the upper hill or even off campus suffer the most, as it is harder for them to get to class without driving.
It is hard to say what the university will do to help this issue in future years, but I do believe the commuter and resident parking rule needs to be strongly enforced in the upcoming semester to help solve the parking issue that Piedmont students face every day.
