One complaint I’ve heard to the point of redundancy from students at UW goes as follows: “There’s not enough parking spaces on campus!”   

The complaint is without a doubt true. In fact, years ago, there used to be an asphalt road and parking spaces that circled around Prexy’s Pasture. Both the road and parking spaces which circled the pasture are now gone after the area was remodeled, leaving even fewer parking spaces on campus. 

But while people may complain about the lack of parking spaces on or around campus, their complaints stand superfluous because the parking situation on campus is not going to change—at least not anytime soon. If you want to find a space for your car or truck on campus, you will play hell at finding an available space with a parking meter.  If you do find a metered space, be prepared to pay the minimum of 25 cents per-15 minutes of parking it buys. If you can’t find a metered space, you can always take the risk of parking in a permitted space.

But don’t be surprised to pay a fine if you’re ticketed for either not putting enough change in the meter or parking your car in a permit space. For those who opt to find parking on the streets surrounding campus, expect a struggle finding a space that’s unrestricted on the immediate streets surrounding campus. Anyone who has tried to find parking on the periphery of campus knows most of the spaces are restricted. Once again, you can park your car along what I call the “no-parking zones” on the streets surrounding UW, but it should come as no surprise to find a parking ticket from the Laramie Police on your windshield when you return to your car. 

Truth be told, if you are looking to park on the streets surrounding campus you had better be willing to walk some distance before reaching UW. My rule of thumb is that I will have to park a minimum of three to four blocks away from campus in any direction in order to find unrestricted parking. Then there are always two options for parking: the two lots serviced by the Transpark busses. If you’re looking for parking, the best places to go are either the parking lot on Spring Creek Street or the other located on Willett Drive.

While it may seem counter-intuitive to drive to a parking lot only to catch a ride on a bus, the south and east parking lots are by far the easiest option when it comes to available parking.  Or you can always leave your car home and walk to campus. 

I’ll be the first to admit that there is a serious lack of parking campus, but my admission is not changing anything

Email: Shane Staley