Amber Williams
Contributing Writer
It is off to the races gearing up for parking as the start of the fall semester fires off at East Stroudsburg University.
Students are not just dealing with the typical normal back-to-school uneasiness but the drastic demands of finding decent parking before their classes start. The normal frustrations of commuters and residents are raising continuing concerns of where all the parking spots have gone.
During the first three weeks of classes students have reported to circle commuter parking lots from an upwards of 20 minutes or more looking for parking.
Commuter parking lots that tend to fill up the quickest are near the Science and Technology Center and by the Mattioli Recreation Center. The growing frustrations have students complaining about the increased enrollment causing parking nightmares.
“I had to come to campus over two hours early for my classes just to get a good parking spot,” said a former graduate ESU student. “I had way too many parking tickets last semester trying to park closer to campus, I paid too much money for my tuition to have to walk 15 minutes or more just to get to class on time.”
The growing number of students enrolled along with the high numbers of commuters has been shown to be part of the issue surrounding the parking crisis. Many lots are restricted to residential students, faculty, or staff, insinuating further competition for commuter-designated spaces.
“I always feel like somebody is watching me,” laughing and jokily said by a student referencing the 1984 Rockwell hit.
Drivers tend to creepily stalk and wait in hopes of getting a spot in this crazy frenzy of parking wars here at ESU. Making it on time to classes is a top priority for most students who will park wherever they can in the first couple weeks of parking congestion at ESU.
Watch out for parking violations as university police/parking & transportation make it clear that there are little to no excuses for them on the ESU parking/transportation page.
“Lack of parking space close to your destination, mechanical problems, inclement weather or other problems do not justify parking violations,” said University Police.
Continued construction on I-80 has also made it a nightmare for commuters trying to arrive on-time for classes as construction is said to continue until late 2027.
Adding to the parking crisis is the issue of students being able to afford parking besides tuition, books and supplies.
The question starts to come to many students’ minds as should parking permits be included in the financial aid package. Could this help students and commuters who are unable to afford parking grace against ESU’s parking wars? That’s a question the administration at ESU might want to consider looking into.