Photo illustration by Michael Uribes

Before she moved to an apartment across from campus, Jessica Freligh had a problem with parking.
“I always used the business school parking lot, Lot J,â€Â said Freligh, a business major.

“I would usually go to the front and realize there were no spots and park in the back or in the Save Mart Center [lot]. However, this caused me a few parking tickets because I work on campus until 5 p.m. and the cars are supposed to be out of the Save Mart parking lot by 3 p.m. and I had no time to move my car.â€Â

As Freligh alluded, there is often a consensus among students at Fresno State that there is a lack of parking, which causes headaches and tardiness in classes. According to an analysis by The Collegian, however, the problem lies not in the amount of parking available, but where most students have their classes in relation to the parking.

According to the Academic Scheduling Office, from 10 a.m. to noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (MWF) this semester, there are 4,115 students attending classes. The campus, in a recent count by The Collegian, offers roughly 5,140 parking spots sprawled across 11 lots. Those numbers do not reflect the four areas of parking meters, but does count the front lot of the Save Mart Center.

Theoretically, then, every student would have somewhere to park.

The trouble is that the class locations for nearly half of those students attending classes at peak MWF times are in buildings located near the Q parking lot on the northwest end of campus. This means that the 1,105 parking spots there have to accommodate twice the number of students attending classes in that area. A similar overflow problem occurs around lots T, Y and J.

Uneven usage

University Police public information officer Amy Armstrong said she is aware that lots Q, J and A are used the heaviest, but notes that other lots are underused.

“The Save Mart Center is generous in letting us use that front lot, but we don’t technically need them,â€Â Armstrong said. “Lot S and the Save Mart lot are the same difference to the middle of campus. Students just think it’s a longer walk to park in S because they have to cross Cedar Avenue.â€Â

During the construction in Lot V last year near Shaw and Woodrow avenues, Armstrong herself parked in Lot S along Bulldog Lane, near the football stadium. She said she wasn̢۪t going to ask students to park in Lot S if she wouldn̢۪t do it herself. Armstrong said that Lot V is still actually one of the most underused lots available, along with S and Y, which is located on the east side of O̢۪Neill Park on the northeast side of campus.

“People want the front row, but that’s not always available,â€Â Armstrong said. “My grandma does the same thing at the mall.â€Â

Students find patience a virtue

Michael Weinstock, a viticulture major, gets to campus up to a half an hour before his class starts in order to get a parking spot in Lot Q. He rarely resorts to parking in the back, but instead decides to wait for students to walk to their cars in order to claim their spots. He does not do the same thing at the mall, unless parking is sparse.

Jessica Freligh, as patient as she is on campus, is equally patient when parking at other places.

“If I see people walking to their car, I’ll wait,â€Â Freligh said. “Otherwise, I’ll just park in the back.â€Â