I’ve been waiting to talk about this particular topic all semester. The parking situation here at Pace has been a nightmare for quite sometime.

It’s a common struggle between students, staff, and faculty. So common, that it has become a valid excuse for tardiness in class. Much like when you’re in the city and point out that the “subway was delayed” – everyone believes you, because everyone has been there and done that.

Despite the horrid stories, I’d just like to point out that it wasn’t always like this.

Back in 2013, my freshman year, parking spots were way less frustrating. As the years have gone by, however, student enrollment has increased and the university has made it clear they are in the direction of becoming a walking campus.

Clearly.

That’s why those golden spots in front of Lienhard Hall were removed and replaced with a sidewalk. In my humble opinion, that was probably the least smart thing to do on the Pleasantville campus. That parking lot is one of the busiest on campus. It connects two academic buildings—the gym and the football field. Sometimes, it’s an extension for Willcox Hall.

And yet, we decided it was a good idea to remove some valuable parking spots and implement a sidewalk instead. Even though we were doing just fine without it.

And let’s talk about the parking lot behind Choate House that everyone uses for Kessel Student Center because the original Kessel parking lot was terminated, all thanks to the Master Plan.

The thing with this conundrum is that the Choate parking lot also acts as an extension to the Goldstein Fitness Center. So now it’s jam packed with staff trying to get to Choate, students trying to get to Kessel, and athletes trying to get to Goldstein all at the same time.

You think that’s bad? Add Common Hour to the mix.

Congratulations to Choate parking lot for causing the most frustration regarding parking this semester. Also, thank you for helping me reach an empty gas tank faster. Couldn’t have it done without you making me go around town 20x to find a spot. Mucho appreciated.

Runner up are the two mountains in front of North and Martin Hall. In case you didn’t know, I’m talking about the fancy new road bumps that sent everyone flying the first week on the job.

Yep, I’m aware this has nothing to do with parking on campus. But I wasn’t about to dedicate a whole piece on them – I’m not that petty.

Overall, the entire driving situation on campus as a whole has been a hot mess. And it goes beyond removing a few spots in the Lienhard lot. I’m sure there are numerous factors that play into it such as the never ending construction—cough-cough.

Pace, we love you, we really do. But please figure out a solution for this problem so people can stop parking on top of the grass to get to the library. This is an institution, not the hunger games.