Lot 34 sits on West Nedderman Drive in front of the West Campus Parking Garage.
Rising enrollment and a record number of permits sold have left UTA students struggling to find a space on campus.
Parking and Transportation Services stated in a Reddit post that 22,000 permits were sold in August, a 5% increase from the previous year, making this the largest parking group in UTA history. In 2021, only 8,000 permits were sold.
With only 12,000 spaces available for students, parking has been an issue for many this semester. Around 400 parking spaces were also lost with the construction of Maverick Hall, parking communications manager, Larry Cummings III said.
As the campus continues to grow and with freshmen enrollment at an all-time high, the Parking and Transportation office has had to adapt how parking is handled. This led to the implementation of the new pilot program.
The pilot program allows students to pick a parking zone in an effort to reduce overcrowding in lots that fill up early in the semester. For the first time, the office capped the number of commuter permits in each zone to ensure there would be space for every permit holder. The cap led to general commuter permits selling out for the first time ever, officials said in the Reddit post.
Cummings said he would observe students gravitate toward the south lots in previous years, watching them circle a full lot in hopes of catching someone leaving.
“Our goal with that was to spread people out, introduce them to new parking areas,” he said.
A waitlist was also created to let students swap zones and introduced a daily swap option, allowing east and west commuters to use south and west lots on certain days. Cummings said every request has been approved and noted parking enforcement has been lenient with tickets as the parking gets resolved.
While the zone system is temporary — leaving in four to six weeks — Parking and Transportation Services stated it’s been successful in its goal to avoid circling and spreading students out.
Officials acknowledge that the pilot program was not perfect. The statement said the West Zone should have been capped earlier, as overflow into nearby lots made the first weeks especially difficult. It also said that while every zone maintained back-row availability 99% of the time, students still circle the front rows, creating longer waits and more frustration.
Many students, however, say their parking experience has been problematic.
Computer science senior Khoi Tran and biology sophomore Khuien Tran, siblings who commute together, said parking is worse than it’s ever been, often feeling like they are competing for spots. It often takes them 40-50 minutes to find a spot, making them late or miss class, Khoi Tran said.
When they do find a spot, Khoi Tran said, the long walk in Texas heat is unforgiving.
“We end up having to park at the stadium on the far west side of campus, and usually the walk from there is about 30 minutes to class,” Khoi Tran said.
In response to the new zoning rules, Khuien Tran said she feels she’s circling more, just in smaller lots. Khoi Tran said they have even tried getting to class two hours early and still find themselves circling the lots.
Other students say their parking experience hasn’t been frustrating but question the university’s development decisions. Computer science senior Kaitlin Martin, who commutes an hour to school, said it was confusing to see UTA build a new dormitory without additional parking.
“I assumed they were going to get their own parking area,” Martin said. “That parking garage, even before the dorm was built, was already pretty much full capacity with just daily student commutes.”
The parking office added an additional 400 spaces to the South and East Zones and allocated about 50 unused staff parking spots in Lot 34 to the West Zone.
Parking officials said they will continue working with Student Government and the Parking Advisory Committee to review the pilot program. They will decide whether capping zones earlier or steering more drivers to reduced-rate and remote options is the best short-term solution. For now, no new parking projects have been approved, Cummings said.
“Parking will never feel perfect on a college campus — close enough, cheap enough or available enough for everyone — but we do work hard to keep two white lines open for you when you arrive and help you find them easily,” the office wrote in a post.
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