Student drivers at Quincy University have less places to park their cars this year as the school has made the parking lot in front of Padua Hall, Lot F, off limits for students. 

“Well I can barely find a park in C-lot now and I don’t believe it is the correct move. Considering we have more students at this school, I don’t agree with it at all. How about we build a new parking lot instead of revamping the one we already had,” Cole Schnettgoecke said. 

Security often had issues with students creating their own parking spaces in the former Padua Hall parking lot, often having to write students tickets for illegal parking.

Chartwells, the company that runs dining services on campus, was having issues with getting in food shipments. The illegal parking blocked the way food delivery trucks got into and out of the lot.

“I did not realize it was open to park in there and that’s why there are no students,” Cindy Murry, a Chartwells worker, said. 

The former student lot is now being used by Chartwells workers for closer parking. Murry stated that she likes parking in C-lot, the parking lot across the street from the cafe, and that she will continue to park there instead. Just like many students, Murry had not noticed the no student parking signs, the only notification of the change. 

“I mean I didn’t like it but…I just didn’t really like it all because I park there all the time. I mean now because of that C-lot is always full so there is no parking. I don’t think there is enough parking on campus in general, ” Brandon Granger said. 

There have also been issues with parking availability on North Campus, leaving many to create unofficial spaces in that parking lot. 

Parking continues to cause strife as some students have classes on different campuses that are close in finish and start time. Looking for an open spot or having to park farther away could create tardiness, leaving some students to create their own solutions to the issue. 

“Well, it doesn’t concern me because I don’t have a sticker on my car. So they couldn’t fine me if they wanted to,” Schnettgoecke said.

Many students who did have a parking sticker issued by the school are now thinking of or have already taken the sticker off. The parking sticker identifies the car as a student vehicle prohibiting parking on the street and certain campus parking lots overnight. 

However, the sticker is also supposed to validate parking in a university owned lot. Being towed is a potential consequence of not having a QU parking sticker on student vehicles.