Miranda Coulthard / Winonan
Every year, around 2,000 parking permits are sold to Winona State University students.
At times, due to the a large number of people who have cars at Winona State, parking can be frustrating for those students. Parking services has acknowledged this fact on their website, stating, “We aim to make parking on campus as convenient as possible for everyone. However, due to the variety of campus activities, parking can be challenging at times.”
For first-year Brady Jensen, this rings true.
Jensen lives on west campus and said parking on main campus is difficult because students with a green pass are only allowed to park in the lots on west campus, causing confusion for some.
“The way the lots are placed, especially on main campus, is very confusing. I think it’s not very clear and not very organized,” Jensen said.
Junior Ariel Dietz, a Winona State student who commutes from La Crosse, Wis., said she also struggles finding a parking spot on main campus.
Commuters have the option to buy a gold pass, which are lots with prime parking spots, or a purple pass, which are less money, but also not as sought out as gold. Both gold and purple lots are not overnight lots, Dietz said.
This year, Dietz said she decided not to get a parking pass.
“I am a part-time student, and I do not have a parking pass. I decided not to purchase a pass due to the cost, as well as the lack of guarantee of finding a spot,” Dietz said. “I do feel that the price of a parking pass is excessive. Seeing as Winona is such a small town, I don’t understand why parking on campus is so sparse.”
Scott Bestul, assistant director of security, said passes are affordable. As the assistant director, one element of Bestul’s job includes overseeing parking.
Maroon passes for students who live in East Lake apartments, green passes for students who live on west campus and silver passes for students who live on main campus are all $135 for the entire year, Bestul said. Whole-year gold passes are $195, purple and handicap passes are $90 and moped/motorcycle passes are $25.
“All passes are first come, first serve,” Bestul said.
A large portion of funding for parking services comes from the sales of passes and a small portion comes from parking tickets. Because there is no other source of funding, building a parking garage or expanding is nearly impossible without a benefactor or donation, according to Bestul. He added that other universities’ prices for parking passes are similar, if not more expensive.
However, according to Dietz, while the price is similar to other universities, even if a pass is purchased at Winona State there is no certainty that a spot will be available.
“I think the price is way too high. But I have attended three colleges within the past 10 years, and the price is in line with other institutions,” Dietz said. “The only difference is at other schools I have purchased a pass because a spot is guaranteed. With the price being so high and no guarantee of parking, it seems like a waste of money.”
While Bestul said parking services is making improvements and changing all the time, both Dietz and Jensen believe there are ways parking services can make changes to better serve students.
Jensen said he thought lots more compatible with all drivers would solve problems with parking.
“I think they need to make more of a universal parking system, especially for west campus students,” Jensen said. “I know they have the bus that runs back and forth, but I think only about half the people take that and half the people drive because they have cars.”
Dietz had a more specific idea of what needs to be done.
Her suggestion was to poll students to see if they will be utilizing parking services or not.
“Part of the application process should require students to document whether or not they will be bringing a vehicle to campus, and parking can be determined from there,” Dietz said.
Parking can be frustrating at times for students, but there are some helpful benefits like receiving three pardons per year. This rule indicates there are certain tickets that will be forgiven if students own a parking pass.
Also, the price of passes goes down as the year advances, given there are some left, according to Bestul.
Some advice Bestul had for students was to stop in Maxwell 233, where parking services is located, if questions arise that relate to parking. He also said to stop in his office, located next to the security desk in Sheehan Hall, with questions.
Parking services could not be reached in time to comment. Applications for next year’s passes are now available.
