Parking on campus sucks, and it costs as much as a textbook.

  As a student working two part-time jobs, living in the big city on her own, I have to make decisions about what to spend my money on. Unfortunately, I don’t actually get to decide.

  I work on UMKC’s Health Science campus and then go to class at Volker, so if I want to get paid, I have to buy a parking pass. If I want to pass my classes, I have to buy my books. Every semester I ask myself, “Is it really worth $135 a semester?” The answer is always no, but I give the university my card info for a cheap piece of plastic anyway.

  Here’s the thing: universities sell more parking permits than they have parking spots. UMKC has a number of explanations for this like “parking permits are valid in multiple locations” and “not everyone is on campus at the same time.”

  The first week is always the worst because everyone is actually going to class. Once people drop classes or start skipping, there will be more spots.

  As a disabled student who doesn’t qualify for a disabled tag, I have to park out of the way so I can unload my service animal. Disabled tags are only available to those who can’t walk a certain amount of feet unassisted. My dog and I have to walk, but if you’re one of the few students with an electric vehicle you can take your pick of spots up close to the sky walkway.

  Parking is also not marked clearly. I parked in a spot behind the Roo News offices I thought was open to newspaper staff and I was ticketed because the lot is technically for faculty, despite only having one sign. I have an appeal in process, but it’s not likely it will be accepted.  

  I am sure everyone has their complaints about parking–there’s even a petition online for students to voice concerns. To play devil’s advocate, it could be worse. We could be at my last university.

  At my last university you had to be living on campus in order to buy a parking pass, and they still sold more permits than they had spots. If you lived off-campus you had to park in a metered spot. This isn’t like UMKC’s meters where you can do it on an app, though. I’m talking about physical meters that only take quarters and have a two-hour limit.

  What I have done at both schools is park far away and walk because I can’t afford parking. I want to make sure no one hits or dings up my car so it’s the safest option for me.

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