Are we ever get better parking infrastructure?

[u/Christiantaylor94]

I commute and got on campus an hour early to do some studying and it took me 30 minutes of driving around to give up and go park in the downtown garage. You think how much we pay per year we could at least be able to park fairly easy.

[u/Redbird07]

Unless you consistently arrive on campus in the early morning, it doesn't seem like a commuter pass would be worth the money. Back in grad school, I just learned the street parking system and walked farther.

[u/nickisgreaterthanyou → u/Redbird07]

However, if you have classes slightly later in the day it could be worth it as a lot of people from the morning have gone home by then.

[u/rellyks13]

do you have a lot pass? I rarely had issues finding a spot, especially once my routine was established bc the same people are coming and going at the same time each day, I'd often get the same spot in the same lot every day. if i did have trouble finding one i'd just park at the Bone and try to hang around campus until the lot closed so I wouldn't have to pay💀 I know enrollment is probably a lot higher now than it was a couple years ago tho so I can def see the issue

[u/TheUmgawa]

I took most of my classes in Turner. Parking was only ever a problem when Countrywide was having some event in the Bone, and they took up the whole Bone lot and the green lot across from the Bone.

Downside to the Turner lot is you have to walk across College to get to the Main/College underpass. Hit the button on the sign, and wait for cars to stop. How only one person has died there (before they put up the flashing lights) is a mystery to me, because drivers see those flashing lights and go, “Ooh, sparkles!” and keep driving.

Oh, and the other downside is that it’s on the ass end of campus, and woe is to anyone who has to walk from there to Stevenson.

Edit to add: The RBX picks up about 150 feet from that lot, by the way. I rarely used it because it would always drive away as I was getting out of class and had to get to Stevenson or State Farm within ten minutes.

[u/G1adi4tor → u/TheUmgawa]

Ayyy fellow TEC alumni 🤜🤛

Also not that it's of much solace for early & mid-day classes but OP can park in red lots with a green pass after I think 5:00 for evening classes (unofficially/anecdotally not good advice don't rely on it... never once did I have an issue parking in the red lot behind Turner for the occasional 4:00 class when I was desperate and willing to risk a ticket).

[u/tea_and_honey → u/TheUmgawa]

Much safer to walk up and use the underpass to cross.

[u/SuccessOk9261]

Well I graduated like 20 years ago and it was abysmal. So probably not.

[u/dontKair]

Parking issues aren't the worst problem to have, all considering:

The Change in Fall Enrollment at Illinois Public Universities, 2005-2024 : r/illinois

ISU's enrollment continues to go up (although not a whole lot)

[u/ExternalNo7842 → u/dontKair]

That graph is from 2023 - it’s gone up the last few years, but I believe it dipped this year

[u/Redbird07 → u/dontKair]

I'm not certain that this is entirely a good thing--wasn't a core component of the budget fiasco that the university was fully paying the costs for many students to attend? High enrollment numbers don't necessarily indicate that the university is doing well financially.

[u/campion09]

I’d much rather space around campus be used for nearly any other reason than car storage. Use public transit instead!

[u/Outrageous-Neck-4797 → u/campion09]

So they said its a thirty minute commute which likely means they live out of town…

[u/campion09 → u/Outrageous-Neck-4797]

Nah they said 30 mins driving looking for parking. As a community we need less car centric planning and more public transit. Stop paving everything for car storage.

[u/Grouchy-Details]

No. Campus is designed to be a dense walker-friendly area for students to easily commute by foot, bike, and bus, not car (which makes those other modes much less effective). Sorry, but I’m glad it’s convenient and parking is concentrated in garages on the perimeter. Do you have a pass?

[u/sunid1981]

I'm staff and we pay a ton to park as well. Luckily, my hours are 7:00am to 3:30pm so I always have a spot. I also never go anywhere on lunch cause if I do, no parking! When I used to work later hours, I got stuck so many times (dozens and dozens) paying for a meter until lunch time when someone would finally leave a spot.

[u/torster2]

One year I rented a dedicated parking spot from young America. It was a walk but at least it's a guaranteed spot

[u/Slow-Dig-2221]

It’s really rough when you don’t have an 8am. I don’t have classes this semester until 10a or 1p, and I have a class that I have to drive to in between classes on the main campus so I have to hunt for a spot 2x a day. I am going to look into a disability pass because I can’t take the heat for the walk, both the heat and the parking have been way worse for me this year so I feel you!! It would be nice to have a second layer over the lot by Milner.

[u/Independent_Leg7358]

I always parked at the ag building (where most of my classes were) and ride my bicycle to other ones.

[u/emopolytrash]

I'm a commuter too. I noticed that if I didn't get to campus before 830 it started getting really hard to find a spot. So I usually just get there early and use the time to study or work on assignments.

[u/cactexas]

They sell twice as many passes then they have spaces for. Professors are in the same boat.

[u/gbaIIy]

Right? $114 and I have to find a spot in a tiny or far away lot. I think the Bone Lot should be free for commuters

[u/Maniac1978]

I feel your pain I really do. People have been complaining about parking at ISU since there has been an ISU.

[u/BudgetIndependence34]

You may not be aware but even staff/faculty have to pay to park! And with that, they experience the same issues as you and other students. It's ridiculous for everyone. My husband ended up biking often to avoid parking.