FIU continues to improve its parking situation

Maytinee Kramer/ Staff Writer

Being a commuter school, FIU brings in a lot of traffic, and parking is often considered a nightmare, especially during the first few weeks of classes. As the university continues to grow in size and number, it has taken the necessary measures to ensure that its faculty, staff and students have decent and plentiful parking spaces.

A few years back, FIU did not have the many garages, virtual parking decals, apps and the garage count signs it has today. During my freshman year, a professor actually advised my class to arrive early in the morning, just to ensure a good parking spot. From that and through experience, I learned that you had to arrive early on campus if you wanted lots of good parking spaces to choose from.

Another issue was that the university had more parking lots than parking garages. Parking lots expand outward, therefore limiting the number of spaces available. Parking garages however, expand upward and stack the car lots, therefore ensuring hundreds of spaces for commuters.

Hunting for that coveted parking spot has been made easier during the recent years with the addition of the new parking garage PG6 and the garage counters all across campus. The counters are the biggest improvement as they help keep track of cars entering and exiting garages, and automatically update drivers on how many staff, student and administrative spaces are available in each garage.

Despite the many upgrades and improvements, however, there are still some difficulties in finding good parking. For new and returning students, I recommend these tips to ensure smooth sailing:

First, it’s always best to arrive early to campus to ensure you have lots of good parking spots to choose from. The best time to find parking is still in the early hours of the morning, usually before 8:00 a.m. After that time, it’s more difficult to find parking as the spaces begin to fill up fast.

This can be a hassle to people who have classes later on in the day, but if they come later, they have to spend a large amount of time searching for a spot, or waiting in hopes of someone leaving campus to take their spot.

However, arriving early to campus doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It can actually be beneficial to an enriching college experience. Aside from reducing the stress and hassle of endless searching for a parking space, spending time on campus can allow for more time making friends, getting involved and learning more about what FIU has to offer.

Second, it’s best to park near where your class ends. It may seem cumbersome to walk across campus for the first class, but at the end of the day, it’s much easier and faster to walk a shorter distance when you’re tired and ready to leave.

FIU is dedicated to its community and by working towards improving its parking and transportation system, the university has ensured comfort and efficiency for its faculty, staff and students.

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

Photo taken from Flickr.