By Lizzie Sexton

It is only the start of the semester, and parking tickets are swarming the University of Louisville’s campus. On-campus residents struggle to find parking spaces near their dorms. Meanwhile, commuters fear being late to class.

With many on-campus residencies, there seems to be a shortage of parking spots. Buying a yellow pass might seem like a guaranteed spot, but think again.

University Pointe (known by students as UPointe), Community Park, Kurz Hall and the Greek organizations all share the same parking.

Between these living places, they all share roughly 70 to 80 close parking spaces for thousands of students.

Finding a spot is like finding a needle in a haystack, and many are forced to park in the lots by Bettie Johnson Hall. This may seem like no big deal, but for many, this can be unsettling. When the security is full or unavailable, many students are scared to walk back at night.

Freshman Kiley Peat, a resident at University Pointe, is frustrated by the situation.

“There are more cars than spots available around UPointe, and parking at Bettie is inconvenient and doesn’t feel safe at night,” said Peat. “I never want to drive because there will be no spots when I get back.”

Peat, a player on the university’s soccer team, explains that going from practice to class can be a struggle. When no parking is available, it often leads to being late to class or parking tickets.

While the university provides a large parking lot for commuters, parking is located at the football stadium. If we take a step back, a walk from L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium to the Belknap Academic Building is just under a mile. In the grand scheme of things, this might not seem bad, but this can be hard for students.

In many cases, time does not allow a student to walk a mile; it is a far distance to walk, and the TARC is sometimes unreliable.

Daniel, a sophomore and commuter, stated that getting a parking spot is not the issue, but if he could change the parking situation, it would be proximity to his classes and the price of the pass.

There are many other factors that play a part in this. Trains run throughout our campus and their unpredictable schedules can prevent students from getting to campus in the most efficient way if they were to walk.

Commuters also face the problem with the TARC.

While the TARC has been reliable for some, the bus can run late, or it is full so you must wait for the next bus to come which could be 5 -10 minutes.

This 5 -10 minutes can make all the difference. Many classes have clicker questions which are questions at the beginning of class that count for a grade. Students can lose points because of transportation which is unfair.

As a university, we strive for excellence, but excellence cannot be reached when students are late to class because of parking.

File photo / The Louisville Cardinal