MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — If you’ve ever been on Baylor University’s campus you might struggle to find a place to park. Some students say they face the same problem.
- Students at Baylor University are experiencing significant parking challenges, with complaints from Zach Shields and Luke Garza highlighting the difficulty of finding available spaces.
- Although free parking is available at the Ferrell Center with shuttle services to campus buildings, students say these shuttles are often unreliable, prompting some students to walk instead.
- Students are advocating for more parking options to accommodate the increasing number of freshmen arriving with cars.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“Parking is rough at Baylor for sure,” said Zach Shields.
“Parking is definitely not the easiest,” said Luke Garza
“Honestly to take the safe route, I’ve stopped parking on campus, and I walk,” said Allie Sparks.
No place to park. That’s the struggle for anyone driving around Baylor University’s campus.
“I even have teachers who complain about it a lot. They’ll say the faculty lots are full, some students are probably parking there,” said Junior at Baylor University Luke Garza.
There are seven parking lots on Baylor’s campus where students pay $365 to park. There’s one lot that costs $450, and one lot costing $100 for commuter students. But students tell 25 News parking tickets often persuade to park elsewhere.
Baylor University has just over 11,000 parking spaces, while they have 14,000 students enrolled in undergraduate programs. However, Baylor University officials say that not every student purchases a parking permit.
“I know my freshman year I got several just because it wasn’t super clear on where we were able to park, and we would end up with two or three tickets over the course of a week,” said Baylor student Allie Sparks.
Baylor University does offer free parking at the Ferrell Center, and shuttle’s students to campus buildings, but Allie sparks says the shuttle isn’t always reliable.
“Parking in the Ferrell lot, shuttling over and getting to class, it’s a whole fiasco and a lot of time the shuttles aren’t punctual, so I just started walking which is great love the walk, the weather is awesome, but definitely was frustrating at first getting used to that,” said Allie Sparks.
Other students find themselves parking in the surrounding neighborhoods of the school.
“I got a parking pass, and it was very expensive, so now I park on side streets, but actually this past semester my roommate’s car got stolen and so it’s not safe to park on side streets and even on some communities,” said Zach Shields.
Like many students, Sparks says they just need more space.
“Whether that look like a flat lot or just another garage, it just needs to be addressed. And there needs to be more parking spaces, I think more and more freshmen are coming with their cars, which not have been the reality a year of two ago,” said Allie Sparks.
Baylor University said in a statement,
"We appreciate students sharing their concerns. Parking on any university campus can be challenging. Baylor is fortunate to have parking spaces at the Ferrell Center. The university offers free student parking at Ferrell and provides two express BUS routes to campus every 10 minutes. As student class schedules and needs continue to evolve, we always are looking at ways to improve."
