Commuting students here at AIC have so much on their plate already and are troubled with finding a parking spot. Students at AIC must worry about limited parking and unsafe conditions and actions all around the nearby streets. The added expense of the parking pass is not ideal for students if they can never find a parking spot. When a student is busy looking for a spot, it makes them late for class. Even student who arrive early in the morning just to find a spot are often unsuccessful.

Daniel Provost is a first-year student here at AIC. He majors in sports management while playing baseball for the Yellow Jackets. For someone who bought the parking pass, it has been nothing but a stressful situation. “It’s getting pretty annoying,” Provost said. His main complaint is that there are many students who have not purchased the parking pass, but who can find spots around the lots on campus. “It is just very unfair for the rest of the commuters who took the time to buy the pass, just to lose spots to students without one… I have seen students park along the streets next to the lots just to get a spot for class.”

In addition to the limited parking, Provost has also complained about unsafe conditions, including hit and runs. “The unsafe behavior of some of the commuters is crazy,” Provost reported. “My friend’s rear door [was] bumped into, leaving a bit of a dent, and the driver is nowhere to be seen. The nerves go up a bit when parking there.”

Reckless drivers are not just within the lots; they are also along the streets surrounding AIC. Hunter King, a sports management major here at AIC and a basketball player for the Yellow Jackets, commented on feeling unsafe. “It’s a very big hazard when walking from the lot to the school,” he said. “People are flying down State Street, with no logical sense that it’s a school zone.”

Just last year Margaraet “Lani” Kretschmar, an AIC employee, was struck by a car and killed on Wilbraham Road. “These incidents should not happen to anyone here at AIC,” said King.

The price for parking passes is not on the cheap side. This can be a bit of an issue for commuters who are already paying tuition, along with other expenses. “I already must pay for gas,” King said, “and when I get here, there are usually no spots left. They want me to pay for this expensive parking pass while they cannot control their parking issues.”

King had a suggestion for how to amend the cost and confusion for non-residential students: “This should already be included in the tuition for commuters.”

With so many of the lots filled up, students who drive to campus must get to AIC early. First-year baseball player Dacota Durkee commented by saying, “It really is a big inconvenience having to wake up early just to try and secure a parking spot–something I should not have to worry about. The easier it is for students to get parking, the easier it is for them to get to class on time.”

Durkee added that the parking issues are for him a matter of public safety. “When I commute to a school,” he said, “I want to be sure that there are safe circumstances for myself and my vehicle. I should not have to worry about parking or dangerous drivers. I really hope that in the future we can see some improvement in parking and safety for us commuters here at AIC.”

Do we know exactly how the parking panic will be resolved, or when? That is a story that all the commuters here at AIC are waiting for.