Features Editor

The influx of student enrollment at CSU Bakersfield has extended the need for more parking spaces on campus.

Chief of Police Marty Williamson ensures students and faculty that additional parking is underway.

“We’re calling it K3,” said Williamson.

The parking is expected to be completed by March.

Parking lot K3 is to be placed in between lots K1 and K2 near the residential hall in the grassy area. The parking lot will hold approximately 186 new spaces available for use with a permit and with further observation, more parking on campus is to be discussed.

“Once the humanities building is built out on the west side of campus we have to consider those parking issues out there,” said Williamson. “Then we’ll assess and see if we need to build there.”

Due to the need for building new parking spaces and maintaining both the old and new lots, parking permits have risen this semester from $45 a quarter to $93 a semester.

“The fee increase will allow us to plan for the future and build adequate parking as the campus grows without having to go back and raise the fees in the near future,” said Williamson.

Even with the parking fee increase, CSUB is still one of the cheapest CSUs for parking tied alongside Fresno State University.

Williamson states that there are no plans to raise the parking fees in the future. However, the possibilities of the fees being reduced back down to its original price are slim.

“I would love to say we can reduce it but the cost to maintain it [parking lots] and the cost to build them are not going to go down,” said Williamson.

Students who haven’t purchased their fall 2016 parking permits and are illegally parking on campus run the risk with being cited with a ticket around $35-40. Williamson states that receiving two tickets ultimately pays for the parking permit.

Students who are looking to save money by not buying the parking permit are free to utilize the parking lot across campus on Stockdale Highway beside the bike path.

The Marketplace across from CSUB has been ticketing students who are parking in their lots and going to class. If students have a previous CSUB parking sticker in view, there is a risk of being cited.

The increase in parking permits is not the only thing new this semester that has changed. With classes ending within a short span of time students leaving are able to rotate their cars faster with the students who are coming to class.

The campus police took extra precaution this semester to create overflow parking unsure how bad back-to-school parking would be. Fortunately, overflow parking was not needed.

“For the last two weeks we have not exhausted all of our available parking,” said Williamson. “The turnover rate of students leaving and coming have been related close enough that we have got very few if any (I have not received any) complaints that there wasn’t any parking.”