Finding a parking spot in a busy city is one of the worst car related problems to endure. In 2012, WVU had approximately 7,500 parking spots available for 30,000 students and 9,000 staff members. It would be crazy to think about supporting all 30,000 of those students with parking spots individually because many students attend school at different hours and certain days. Even with the different schedules, there's not enough room. Parking is one of the biggest problems a college student has to endure at most campuses. Whether you're complaining that you have to pay for it or if you're complaining that you can't even get one, it seems to be an increasing concern that has not found a solution. Maybe it's time to look at some other campuses to find a resolution to our problem, because WVU continues to build more and more for its campus but has not made it easier for students to park.
The struggle to find a parking spot strikes me every day. I go from lot to lot, about three actually, and have difficulties finding one spot open for grabs. Officials continue to say it will improve but downtown has yet to see much help. It seems that WVU is attacking this from a different standpoint though. Rather than blatantly building a lot for parking, they have increased other ways of transportation in hope for a solution. For example, WVU added more cars to the famous PRT. The point of this not only is to obviously get more cars moving on the PRT itself, but to reduce the amount of cars being driven (hoping people ride the PRT now that it is much quicker of a source than driving). Unfortunately, every mountaineer knows that the PRT can have its bad days and it is not always the most reliable source. I get the fact that downtown is a pretty crowded area. As new businesses flow in and out of it, needs for customer parking and room for that particular business may take up a good bit of room. And as we keep letting downtown grow in size without any parking lots being created for students and faculty, we may never be able to fit them in at all.