Campus parking leaves students frustrated

Alicia Dye | News Editor | A line of cars form every morning to enter the Locust Garage.

Alicia Dye | News Editor

Sept. 1, 2022

South Side commuter Tyler Johns has never had such a hard time finding parking with his friends, who he carpools with.

“I lived on campus my first two years, and then moved off campus. Last year wasn’t hard for us,” Johns said. “We were always able to find parking. Even when we lived on campus, we could always find a spot. Now it’s virtually impossible.”

Johns isn’t the only student having issues, as even resident students struggle to find parking on the surface and in the garage. One of the changes in parking passes is that there are not just garage passes or just surface passes, as it had been in previous years. A student who buys the garage/surface pass can park on either the surface or in the garage.

While the cost may deter some, many students who have parking passes live on campus. This includes the freshmen class, who were able to purchase passes for 2022-2023, despite not being able to purchase passes until the spring semester last year.

Parking on Duquesne University’s campus has always been an issue, especially at the start of the semester.

However, students and faculty have had more parking issues this semester than in recent years.

A year-long parking pass will cost students $1,275, while an academic year pass will cost a student $825, whether they park in the garage or on the surface, according to parking information provided by the university.

Michaela Gett, a campus resident, has trouble finding parking when she leaves campus and returns.

“I leave for work or to shop and when I come back, it’s so hard to find a spot near my building,” Gett said. “The St. Ann’s lot is always full, and parking by the music school is also super hard. I’ve tried to park almost everywhere on the surface and it’s just never available. ”

Even with new transportation options available for students, including the now-free South Side Shuttle, students find driving to campus more convenient than relying on bus times.

“The shuttle stops aren’t close to my house, so I’d have to walk three or four blocks to even get to the stop,” Johns said. “Plus, there are no specific times that the shuttle arrives at each stop. I could be standing there for 30-plus minutes before the shuttle comes.”

While the new UPass system gives students a discount on Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) rides, there is no direct stop from South Side to Duquesne; students who use PRT would have to ride until a stop in Oakland, then transfer buses and ride the bus to a stop closer to the university.

“I just wish there was more parking available,” Gett said. “There are more and more students who come to Duquesne every year, and more spots are filled. It doesn’t help that some spots are reserved by the university.”

The spots Gett is referring to are spots on the roof of the Forbes Avenue garage, where multiple spots are reserved for “Future Duquesne Dukes,” which is for students and families who are visiting the university to tour.

Students are encouraged to not park in those spots, although during peak hours, students do. Locust Garage is the garage that students are supposed to park in, although the garage fills up quickly during the average class day.

Jason Conlogue, associate director of parking and DU card services says that parking passes do not have a set amount available each year.

“Because [Duquesne’s] enrollment figures change yearly and class schedules vary per student, there is no set number of parking permits,” Conlogue said.

According to Conlogue, there is not a predetermined number of passes available for each school year and passes are still being sold.

Students can contact the parking office for more information about passes.