Students have complained about parking at ETSU for quite some time. Recently those complaints have risen from frustrated mutters to constrained road rage. Students, especially commuters, are learning to come to campus early if they want to make it to class on time. For 13,000 students enrolled at ETSU, there are 7,000 parking spaces. However, not all 13,000 students are on campus at once.
“I’ve heard some commuters say they’ve been parking in teacher parking because they can’t find any place to park,” said Justin Mashburn, who lives in Campus Ridge apartments. Mashburn walks to class every day because he doesn’t want to go through the trouble of parking. “I can walk here faster, and make it to class faster than I can drive down here and find a parking space,” he said.
“We need a parking garage,” said Matthew Talliver when speaking of the proposed plan for a new apartment building in the place of Cooper and McCord, which will be demolished.
Mark Burton, a resident of Lucille Clement, said, “Last year parking was bad enough, but now because of construction we’ve lost even more spaces. In my opinion they should have come up with somewhere else for other people to park. I walk almost everywhere. The easiest thing to do is just walk.”
J. D. Emmert, a master’s student in computer science, thought he could save time searching for a parking space by simply parking in lot off Jack Vest Drive close to Bojangles. In his five years at ETSU, Emmert has never had a problem finding a spot in that parking lot.
“There were a lot of people circling,” he said in astonishment.
He ended up parking in a space covered by construction rubble. When he got out of his car he realized that he wasn’t the only person parked over a construction rebar.
“Where else was I supposed to go?” said Emmert.
ETSU Chief of Public Safety Jack Cotrel believes students shouldn’t be worried about the crowded parking situation encountered this week.
“(Aug. 28) was probably the most congested this campus has ever been,” said Cotrel. “Historically, the first and second week is always the busiest. It seems that the number of cars decrease after a couple of weeks.”
He also went on to explain that one lot partially closed due to construction is planned to open up this week. When asked if there are any plans for improvement in the future, he replied, “There are a lot of ideas floating around. Parking garages are in the master plan, but parking garages are extremely expensive and you are not going to see one in the next six months to a year.”
Cotrel attended a meeting Wednesday where possible solutions to the parking situation were discussed. One idea is a system that would incorporate cards that can be used to gain access into a specific lot. “But these are just a few of the ideas that are being thrown around. When they will become a reality, I have no idea,” he said.
His advice for students who are concerned about making it to class on time: “Go to Lot 22A, leave a few minutes early. There’s a shuttle service there that will bring them to campus. It’s stress free.” He also spoke about traffic violations during the first week of school. Everyone knows about the unspoken “grace period” that is designed for freshman and transfer students who are getting accustomed to the traffic rules. As far as the upperclassmen are concerned, Cotrel believes they are abusing this slackened authority during the first couple of weeks. “That aside, we will look the other way for kids that park in the wrong lot. But we will not look the other way for people who create their own parking spaces, create traffic hazards, and block their fellow students in the lots. We will tow vehicles that are blocking other vehicles in. I’m going to make some examples out of some kids. That’s inconsiderate and rude. We’re not going to tolerate that kind of parking,” said Cotrel.
Although parking problems are expected to decrease within the next few weeks, no long-term parking solutions have been put forward. In other words, students should invest in some running shoes.

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