Parking at NIU is a nightmare. The closest available parking to any location regularly seems out of reach, and despite assigned parking passes, it still is a day-to-day inconvenience many students face.
“For how much we pay to live here, needing to walk the distance to and from the lot can be pretty irritating, especially in the super cold weather,” said sophomore photography major Ava Sproul.
NIU’s problem is not a lack of parking options; far from it. Just a quick glance at the parking map will show you that. Additionally, the parking lots are largely “permit only” during business hours (weekdays between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.), and, assumedly, this system would lead to organized and available parking for everyone.
However, the problem arises in the center of campus near the majority of academic buildings.
For buildings more on the outskirts of campus like Stevenson Towers, Grant Towers and Patterson Complex, parking is available directly next to the buildings. Despite most dorms having closer parking lots, available permitted parking for Neptune Hall and Gilbert Hall is further away, possibly due to the residence halls proximity to academic buildings.
Around Cole Hall, Reavis Hall and other lecture halls, generally the only cars admitted to park during business hours are staff and commuting students. Parking in these spots without the correct permit will result in a ticket or, if the car remains there after being ticketed, towing.
The closest available parking for Gilbert residents is a parking lot across the street from Anderson Hall, a 5 to 10 minute walk from the dorm itself. For Neptune residents, it’s the parking garage, which itself is majorly only for commuters and staff as well (all but the top floor), and is also a fair distance from the dorm.
“Students should be allowed to park in front of (Gilbert) during class hours,” Sproul said. “We’re also not guaranteed parking because of how small the lot is. There have been a couple times I’ve had to take laps waiting for a spot to open.”
Additionally, only 4,477 of NIU’s students live on campus, and NIU’s over 16,000 students outnumber its faculty 14:1. As the winter gets colder and people want to park closer to their destination, the parking lots fill up leaving faculty without convenient parking, and students who actually need the spots the same.
In an editorial from last October about this topic, Jessica Nunez, the coordinator of parking and transportation, said that NIU is working to find a balanced solution to this issue, but unfortunately it seems that the only balance reached is an equal amount of discontent between staff, commuters and on-campus students.
Additionally, Nunez pointed out that due to NIU’s location, more parking is next to impossible, and encouraged students to seek parking further out from the apex of NIU, but within walking distance.
There’s no reason that students should get ticketed for parking where it is reasonable; closest to their destination; or that teachers and staff should have to worry about the availability of their parking for that same reason.
The parking designations at NIU stop making sense the further into campus you get. Residents of Neptune and Gilbert should be allowed to park closest to their dorm building, and in general, students and staff should be able to park closest to any given destination as needed.
Re-allocation of parking permit distinctions, so that permits will either be more open or different lots will be reserved for different permits, could at least somewhat alleviate this issue.
