By ALLISON RUWALDT
Students at Northwestern Oklahoma State University seem to be in agreement that the campus parking needs improvement.
With the construction continuing on Highway 281, many students are still struggling with parking on campus. Many say that their problems are with the parking lots, while some say that the students who drive cause a bigger issue.
Although the lack of parking spots frequently came up in students’ opinions about parking, some were more focused on the people doing the parking. Many students feel their peers struggle to park properly.
“We don’t have enough parking spaces for sure,” said Giuliana Callahan, a freshman at NWOSU. “Everything is really far apart, and people are horrible at parking.”
While not all students on campus are affected by bad parking, some are suffering consequences of others’ poor driving. Camree Johnson, a NWOSU student, spoke about how her vehicle was hit recently by another student.
“My car was parked, and a truck reversed and hit it, then he tried to go forward and then smacked it again,” Johnson said. “Then he reversed back and just drove off.”
The student and his parents did not give their insurance information, so Johnson’s only option was to accept the damages to her car.
A main issue students raised was the lack of parking spaces on campus and the fact that they often have to park off campus and cross a busy street. Even though there are crosswalks, many students still feel unsafe crossing the streets to get to campus.
“Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of it because most of it is crossing the highway,” said Jacob Johnston, a junior at NWOSU. “And I really don’t like that because depending on traffic, you can be late for class”
While it is not common that an accident happens with a student crossing the street, it also is not impossible. And when students are in a rush to class, they are more likely to cross the street with less care.
“I feel like there should be more parking options, but I also feel like there should be more compact-only and truck-only parking,” said Nate Vaughn, a NWOSU student. “The one that we have is really inconvenient, especially with the construction.”
Vaugh also mentioned that rules for compact or truck-only parking should be clearer and enforced. Oftentimes, large vehicles parked in compact parking are not ticketed, or students driving are not aware that it is compact only.
He mentioned that trucks often block the view or multiple spots, making it difficult for others to park around them. This also increases the chances of accidents on campus, though it is not common.
On every college campus, parking seems to be an issue, whether it is a lack of spots or the distance between a lot and a student’s class. However, there does not seem to be an efficient solution.
Although it would be difficult and costly, perhaps safer parking options would be an investment in student morale.