Parking shortage angers WSU students

600 sign online petition that seeks rebates, solutions.

Current and former Wright State University students vented last month about the university’s “decades-long” parking issue.

An online petition started last week calls for Wright State to address its parking shortage. The petition has topped 600 supporters.

The www.change.org petition has three demands: refunds for students who have been affected by the shortage, opening staff-only lots to students, and expanding parking areas.

“I’m signing because I shouldn’t have to walk a mile back to my apartment, by myself, at 11 p.m. when I get off work. It’s a safety hazard, and I didn’t pay over $100 for a parking pass for this,” wrote signer Jessica Shelton.

Wright State President David Hopkins told the campus newspaper last month that parking isn't a "legitimate of a concern at this point."

That quote drew the ire of the petition writer.

“This issue may not be a concern to President Hopkins, a man with his own executive parking space just outside University Hall and the Student Success Center, but it’s a major concern to all of us, the students, who, on a daily basis, are displaced by the shortage,” the petition wrote.

Last month, more than a dozen Wright State students told this newspaper that they are forced to arrive more than a half hour early or park at nearby businesses in an effort to find parking.

“I think it’s ridiculous. They charge $160 for a parking pass, and you can’t even find a spot,” said Christian Hammonds, an 18-year-old second-year business management student.

During a five minute span last month, this newspaper counted 13 students parking at nearby Meijer and walking towards the university — most carrying book bags.

University officials said parking is always an issue the first week of class, but that the concerns cease as the semester moves forward.

The petition also wants the university to look into the possibility of a parking garage.

“At this point we don’t have a lot of areas to build out, and no one really wants to go into the wooded area,” said Rob Kretzer , director of parking transportation, in an interview last month.

Kretzer estimates a parking garage would cost $15,000 to $20,000 per spot, compared to $3,000 to $5,000 for a space in a parking lot.

About the Author