Parking still a tight squeeze at Mercer
As few students leave mid-semester, Mercer's parking lots are overflowing
Amber Zahn
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More than half way through the semester the parking lots at Mercer are still fuller than the Parkway on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Student enrollment at community colleges across the country is up as a result of people returning to school during the economic recession. Mercer's own enrollment is up 9 percent over last year, and parking on the commuter campus is tighter than ever.
Mercer is set on 292 acres of land and preserved landscape that many students are more then eager to cut down in order to obtain a better parking space.
"I think that the parking lot needs to expand a lot more towards the school. There is no reason that we have to walk that far. We don't need the scenery to enjoy at school, we have parks for that," said third-year Exercise Science major Gianna Marchesi.
"I took all online classes this semester to avoid the long walk in the rain or snow and avoid falling [on ice]," Marchesi added.
In addition to the weather conditions, a struggle to find a spot before class has left many students with no choice but to park along side curbs, subjecting themselves to warnings, tickets and fines for not parking in designated spots.
"The parking at Mercer is horrendous. It has been bad in the past, but this year it is much worse. Not only does it take 10 to 15 minutes to walk from the parking lot to your class, but this year you can't even find a space to park. I had to park on the grass, and then security gave me a warning,"said James Burton, a second year Criminal Justice major.
Just how bad is parking at Mercer compared to parking at other community colleges in New Jersey? The VOICE made some calls to find out. Turns out other commuting students face the same troubles.
"Parking [at Camden County College] is horrible...we park in the grass...in the dirt...it's ridiculous. You have to get to school 30 minutes before class in order to find a spot, not even a good one," said Elizabeth Cardona, a second-year Nursing major at Camden County's Blackwood Campus. Cardona continued, "We park on the soccer fields. They marked off spots with spray paint... we basically park wherever we can that we aren't blocking anyone in or in the way of moving traffic."
Some students, afraid to miss class at Camden, find themselves facing a dilemma: park in the reserved parking spots that are designated for faculty and get a fine, or miss class. "People are out there mainly at mid day, giving parking tickets to students that park in reserved parking ad the fines are like 25 to 50 bucks. If you don't pay it, you don't get your diploma," Cordona explained.
How bad are things at Burlington? Just as bad.
"The parking at the Pemberton campus at Burlington County College is horrible. If you don't have an 8AM class then most likely you will have to park far away from the actual buildings,"says second-year Education major Ashley Denti. "The first day of classes parking was so bad that people were parking on the grass and making up parking spaces and then were getting tickets for it, but all the lots were full, Denti adds.
Like the students at Mercer and Camden County College, students at Burlington are also required to obtain a parking permit and affix it to their vehicle, but the policy at BCC is loosely enforced.
"As far as parking permits, we are supposed to have a sticker on the back window of our cars that says BCC and has a number, but I know a lot of people don't have them, and they don't get ticketed." Denti says.
"When the lots are full at the Pemberton Campus they block it off with cones so you can't even get into the lot to see if maybe someone left and there is a spot open," Denti adds.
Mercer students aren't yet parking on soccer fields or making up parking spaces, but supply is still not keeping up with demand. With the economic crisis continuing, there is little end in sight for the paring crisis.
Mercer's parking permit policy which went into effect last semester does not seem to have helped the situation. There are still cars parked on the grass, and not every student in the parking lot displays a decal on their window. When asked about campus parking and use of parking permits this semester, security refused to comment.
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