It’s 10 minutes to 10. We join the many fleets of coffee buzzed treasure hunters in a circle about the tar sea where each of us is in search of the most elusive loot on campus: parking space.
It’s a Wednesday morning that feels like Monday all over. Waking up is taking extra effort this morning and patience does not want to pay either of us a visit. We end up in Lot 37.
There are remaining spots that could easily be parallel parked in around campus, but who are we kidding here; it’s 10 a.m. Her class is an exaggerated 40 minute walk from any of those spots, and coffee wasn’t enough to kick either of our lingering morning flus out of the way; no way were we walking.
The driver ponders her decision in purchasing her commuter parking pass aloud to me as we swear to ourselves for missing an open parking space. The cars of fellow pirates gleam as we pass. We move on, far too concerned by the clock’s tick that now reads 9:55 a.m. and the rhythm of the circling chaotic crowd to allow another mishap.
The search goes on as we watch the lanes once clogged with cars become clear. I watch a desperate car break from the circle in pursuit of a student who they suspect is freeing up a space, but in reality the student forgot something in his car. We drive by and to our amusement, we find a car pulling out of a nearby parking lot. Immediately, the driver says, “Finally, somewhere to hide this fool’s gold.”
Ah, how wrong we were. Time to take this one to the chin and park in the faculty lot. Here’s hoping we can scrape by for an hour and avoid one more ticket to be racked up in the weekly record. Goodbye to more gold.
Certainly parking on campus is important, but the call for more black space over green space will remain unanswered until the construction of the University Center and eventual demolition of Masselink and Carlisle Halls due to the university’s master plan. I hope Ferris continues through with its master plan. Green space is more aesthetically pleasing than black space.
According to ferris.edu, the department of public safety issues approximately two parking permits per space on campus.
This year, Ferris also reports having the highest main campus enrollment since 1994, figuring 10,039 students walk the campus.
Here’s a disclaimer: We have 16 commuter lots, 10 of which are on the east side of campus. There are parking meters all along the same side of campus.
Managing time can prove to eliminate some of the struggles of parking on campus, but it is obvious our campus is growing and will need to add parking options in the future.