Voices: The University of Utah’s parking ‘fix’ will hurt commuting students like me

Anyone who has been to the University of Utah has come face-to-face with the same issue: parking. With more than 36,000 students in attendance reported in 2024, it comes as no surprise that this would be an issue.

As of 2021, 85% of students in attendance reported a commute of 24 miles or less to get to campus. With the loss of parking spots to make room for new dormitories, and an increase in parking prices, commuters already face challenges just to get their education.

The U.’s plan to fix this is to change how many classes are allowed to be scheduled during “parking bottleneck times.” This “solution” will hinder commuting and working students.

I, along with many other students, not only go to school — we also work. Whether part-time or full-time, we fit our jobs into our schedule, often planning our classes around our work. With this new parking plan, many students are going to struggle to work around new class times after already building their schedules. For some, it just isn’t an option.

While increasing enrollment rates lead to a higher demand for parking, the constant construction of dormitories replacing parking lots is also an issue. Just in the last two years, the parking lot of Kahlert Village has all but been destroyed, leaving 300 fewer parking spots. The University has said they were replaced 1-to-1; however, the parking lot (Lot 111) does not show up on the commuter services website, further leading to the parking issue for those who have no knowledge of Lot 111.

Students living in the dorms have the option to purchase housing parking passes, which are valid in any housing (HU) and general student parking (U). With already limited HU parking, these students can park their vehicles in U Lots throughout the week, leaving even less for commuters. With the increase in dorms allowing for more students on campus, there has been no work to increase the number of HU parking lots to accommodate these students. While it is recommended that those in dorms don’t bring their cars due to the public transportation access, many students still bring their personal cars to travel out of the city.

The U. has a partnership with the Utah Transit Authority, which gives students and employees a free UTA pass. For anyone in the city, this is an accessible and convenient option. For those in neighboring counties already utilizing public transport for classes in these bottleneck times, their already long commute could cause them to spend even more time on campus, taking away from any time they need to dedicate to their work or personal life.

Students in Tooele County, for example, must commute via bus to the North Temple station that takes just over an hour, to transfer to another bus for another 30 minutes. These individuals are already commuting for 90 minutes and must plan their commute carefully. Limiting the number of classes in the bottleneck time frame may cause unnecessary time waiting around for classes. And if a class they are offered is late, there is a chance they will not be able to attend if their bus stops running.

In a world where everyone has an open schedule, the U.’s plan could be a solution to its parking problem. Unfortunately, many of us cannot drop everything, and we must plan our lives carefully.

The U. is still a commuter campus — and it will remain one for years to come. With a continued increase in enrollment rates, parking will remain an issue. Limiting the number of classes allowed to be scheduled in the bottleneck times is not the answer.

Officials should consider a new garage to increase parking spots, or they could increase the number of times popular, in-demand classes are held.

While there might not be one simple fix, this current plan is not the answer.

Lance Rogers is a commuting, fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Utah.

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