By Tanner Harris & Runa Lemminn

Runner Staff

  The parking issue at CSU Bakersfield has been one that has plagued students for several years now. Even with the opening of the new parking lot north of the new Humanities office, students struggle to find sufficient parking because of their class schedules. 

  Marcos Figueroa, a senior majoring in finance, said that it’s most difficult in the afternoons.

  “It is terrible– hard to find anything from around noon till about 4,” said Figueroa.

  Senior Zachary Fennell, an English major, has resorted to riding his skateboard to school.
  “Parking has always been a nightmare,” said Fennell. “I once saw a guy with a sign who would give people rides to their cars in exchange for their parking spot.”
   Chief of Campus Police Marty Williamson said there is a time factor in the struggle students are having, and students who arrive late have the most problems.

  “The highest level of classes are occupied on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:30 a.m., but it’s the people coming in around 11 a.m. that have trouble, said Williamson. 

  For the fall 2017 semester, campus police opened up a temporary lot north of the soccer fields on Kroll Way. However, that lot was closed once Lot A opened, which is located by the Humanities office.  

  Sophomore Melissa Digwl, a biology major, said that some of the spaces in the existing lots are not designated appropriately.

  “I feel like they should just make more parking spaces, for example, they put (clean) air vehicles, but not everyone has a (clean) air vehicle, so there shouldn’t be spaces for that,” said Digwl. “I feel like parking should be a lot closer to the classes. It should be more efficient for us students and also efficient for the faculty, too.”

 Rebecca Smith, 19, a pre-nursing major, said that there might be a different solution by looking into alternatives.

 “It would be interesting to have more incentives for students not to drive, maybe more accessible walkways… I think [the new parking lot] will help a lot, and it would be a good choice,” said Smith.

 Williamson gave some advice about what students can do to find better parking. 

   “Plan ahead, leave in enough time. If you’re not here early, you’ll have to deal with what’s left. Don’t expect a front row seat,” he said.

 Williamson also said there is a sufficient amount of parking on the CSUB campus.

 “We have a sufficient amount of parking,” said Williamson. “[Campus Police] and ASI have opened up close to 400 parking slots within the last two years… and we already have infrastructure ready to provide more parking.”

  The new parking by the Humanities office was opened in the last week of September.