The Brown & White

Luis Villegas, '12, commutes to school, parking on Mountaintop Campus where he has a permit. But while the $40 commuter permit prevents him from getting parking tickets on the Mountaintop campus, it doesn't shorten the 30 to 40 minutes he spends each day on the bus getting from his parking space to class.

"That's about 30 to 40 minutes of my day wasted due to parking, not to mention the extra gas I have to use doing all of this," Villegas said. "Because of this, I've been late to class many times."

Villegas is not alone. Commuter students, unlike on-campus Lehigh students, are bringing their cars to campus not by choice but because they must. Restricted parking requires these students to either park in the Zoellner Arts Center parking garage and pay an entry fee of $1.00 or to park on Mountaintop Campus.

"Commuter students are encouraged to purchase commuter parking passes, which allow them to park on Mountaintop Campus, where there is a lot of parking available, and then take the bus, which runs every 10 minutes, down to Asa Packer Campus," said Brynn Buskirk, marketing specialist for University Business Services.

Buskirk said students can purchase a semester pass to use the Zoellner Arts Center Garage, which costs $130 per semester or $250 for an academic year.

Students also have the option of parking at any brown meter after 4 p.m. as long as they pay the meter, Buskirk said.

Parking tickets are initially $25 but double to $50 each after the second ticket. These tickets can accumulate quickly.

A recent online survey targeting commuter students revealed that parking issues were the biggest concern to commuters. The main concerns were uncertainty regarding where to park and permits being too expensive.

Commuter student Caitlin Prozonic, '11, said commuting students should be able to obtain special parking permits.

"Commuters should get some sort of special pass that lets them park either in the Zoellner garage for cheaper or in the Alumni Memorial deck," she said. "I know that very few people use that deck and it is usually empty."

She also suggested that students who commute should get special permits that would allow them to park anywhere on campus where spots were available.

"I would not mind paying a little extra to get a permit if I could have parking guaranteed for me every day," Prozonic said. "I would just want to know that I would always be able to find a space since I need to have one."

Katherine Vargas, '12, has never received a ticket but said she has been frustrated with the parking situation in her first year.

"It's so complicated to park at Zoellner and walk all the way up to Drown for class," Vargas said.

Vargas also said there is a fear among commuter students that they might mistakenly park somewhere they are not permitted.

The best way to avoid a ticket, according to Parking Services, is to not park in illegal spots.