The adventure of parking at UK

The+adventure+of+parking+at+UK

Tina Hristova

On-campus parking has become a constant problem at UK, and students are not happy about it.

In order to receive a parking pass, students must enter a ticket lottery every year for their preferred parking lot or garage and will only receive the pass if availability and eligibility requirements are met, according to UK Transportation Services.

Students who do not meet such requirements are then left with no pass or not put in their chosen location and put in Kroger Field’s parking lot instead, a more distant option for many students.

“UK Transportation needs to prioritize the people who actually live far off campus to get passes first,” senior Veronica Ouchev said. “People who live further away actually need it but might not get it, as opposed to people who live closer to campus.”

The raffle is drawn at random, so how far a student may be living from a given lot does not play into or against their favor. 

Ouchev lives at the Townhomes of Newtown Crossing along with many other students, a further off-campus living choice and is left to endure the bad weather that Lexington can bring. As a result, she gets frustrated and tends to skip class.

Other off-campus students like sophomore Carly Clarke run into similar problems. 

“I really don’t like when it’s pouring rain, and I need to walk to class,” Clarke said. “My umbrella always breaks from the strong wind, and it makes me mad.”

Winning a parking pass also doesn’t guarantee students a spot. An annual problem is when more passes are sold than spots. 

“A PARKING PERMIT DOES NOT GUARANTEE A PARKING SPACE; however, it does grant the privilege to park in the designated area when there is parking available,” according to UK Transportation Services. 

The transportation service guidelines also state that not being able to find a parking space in your designated lot does not allow the permit holder to violate parking regulations and parking elsewhere on campus.

Senior Caitlin Thompson has a parking pass and has experienced not having a spot when coming from off campus multiple times.

“I get really frustrated because I paid $300 for a pass,” Thompson said. “If I am paying for a pass, I better get a spot. I shouldn’t be getting there earlier just to find one.”

Such problems result in students parking elsewhere on campus and paying for it, on top of an already paid parking spot, or risking getting ticketed and taking other paid parking spots. 

Junior Eva Atanassova believes there is a simple solution for the problem.

“Parking should just be free because we already pay so much money and the tuition is very expensive,” Atanassova said.

Tuition costs are something on every student’s mind, especially for those traveling out of state. Whether it be combing the cost of tuition and parking or finding another solution, UK needs to step up the ongoing problems of its campus parking.