Parking at TRU is congested and finding an available spot is a challenge, TRU students say.
Nicole Perry October 23, 2023
It’s 8 a.m. on a weekday and traffic streams into congested parking lots on the fringes of the TRU campus. Any day of the week, an observer can see the inner lots never reach full capacity, many not nearing that mark at all.
Warren Asuchak, Assistant Vice President of Campus Infrastructure, Sustainability and Ancillary Services, has fielded parking complaints for years. “If you’re walking by empty lots, I’ve got some work to do there,” he says.
The parking system at TRU is made up of four different types of lots. Reserved parking provides designated spots and premium parking gives you exclusive access to the premium parking lots situated in the core of campus. The other two kinds of parking permits that can be purchased are for economy or general parking.
“Any class later than 9:30, 10 o’ clock, you’re not gonna get a spot, unless you park at the farther economy” says first-year student Adam Haines.
Adding new lots isn’t a viable solution, especially considering gas emissions caused by commuters, Asuchack says. “We could actually make parking worse by adding more spaces and making it cheaper because now everyone’s going to drive.”
Finding a Parking Spot
TRU student Keegan Ridley readily shares his opinion on parking as he stands at the entrance of economy parking lot N. Watching the long line of cars flood in, he says, “It’s always been pretty bad, there’s never enough spots for people.”
Prices are also a common complaint among students, but mostly just because general permit holders such as Ridley so often end up in economy lots. “I show up before eight so I can get a spot in general, but for my other classes I normally just have to park in economy and walk across,” he says.
The parking system at TRU was decided based on what worked best at the time. Asuchak says they researched what other Universities were doing and heralded student and staff concerns about parking. He says they’ll be looking at the data and reviewing the system yearly.
Premium parking spots sold in the lottery have to be decided based on head counts of the lots, something not yet done this year. “There could be a time where everyone’s there and I’ve oversold,” Asuchak says. “We need to figure out that number that we can sell.”
Most campus parking is on the periphery, which Asuchak says is important for a pedestrian friendly campus. However, he says that the parking spots in the inside lots should not be empty.
Browsing Solutions
TRU student Kayden Makenzie expresses his frustrations with parking while walking to his car in a bustling lot N. He says “I’ve got to walk so far to get parking, I’m always late.”
He says he doesn’t do a good job of trying to get to campus earlier to secure parking.
Asuchak has heard complaints like this before. He says, “You could actually get trouble for being late for class and you can’t use parking as an excuse. Because if you know the parking situation, and you know that it might take some time to find a spot, then you need to allow that amount of time.”
He has been able to help students with other problems in the past, though limited to signage and maintenance in the lots. However, he’s open to discussion with students about more substantial issues as long as they are constructive and solvable.
“I’m kind of interested in getting us some meetings with TRUSU and students,” says Asuchak. He’s receptive to issues such as premium and reserved lots remaining consistently half-empty throughout the day compared to the brimming ones on the outside of campus.
Referencing that problem, he says, “That’s something I wanna do something about. And I can do something about it. I can sell more spaces, which might free up some general spaces.”
Two-way communication could improve the conflict, allowing students to meet with Asuchak and providing an opportunity for education in the other direction. “If I could explain, maybe, why we do things the way we do, that might help,” he says. “And to get some input from them, that would be very helpful as well.”