Nearly 51,000 students attend Michigan State University, but there aren’t nearly enough parking spaces on campus to accommodate them all.
Claire Fossum, an East Lansing native and a sophomore at MSU, started a petition online to lower the cost of parking on campus.
“I have been a resident of East Lansing my entire life and the amount of parking tickets given out per year is insane,” Fossum said. “It’s around 41,000, which is about four for every five MSU students.”
Lynnette Forman, the parking operations manager at MSUPD, said in an email, that there were 108,583 parking violations issued in 2016.
According to Forman, tickets can range from $15 fo an expired meter to $100 for parking in a space for people with disabilities without the proper placard or plate.
“I had gotten fed up with the little incidents that warrant a ticket costing upwards of $25, so I decided to write a petition about it,” Fossum said. “I’m hoping to lower the rates of parking per hour or per half hour on campus and reduce the number of parking tickets given per year.”
According to the MSU Police Department, there are more than 650 meters on campus, making spaces scarce to students. To park in one of the visitor lots on campus, it would cost 50 to 90 cents per half hour.
Kristen Alexander, also a sophomore at MSU, is upset about parking costs as well. In the past, she has gotten nearly 10 parking tickets, all priced at $25 or more.
“I think that there isn't enough parking on campus for students who wish to commute,” Alexander said. “Even though there are commuter passes available, they are extremely expensive. I’ve heard they can be up to $400, which is not by any means affordable, to a college student.”
For someone to have guaranteed parking on campus, it comes at a cost. According to the MSU Police Department, student parking permits can cost anywhere from $103 to $306 depending on the parking lot the pass is for, and the permits aren’t valid for special events.
Forman said that charging for parking on campus is essential.
“The parking system is a self-supported system so everyone who parks on campus must pay to do so, in order to assist in paying for parking related expenses,” Forman said. “Parking violation fines are used to pay for any vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian related projects.”
Such projects include green light phone maintenance and phone line fees, audio crosswalks, the re-design of parking lots and areas, the installation of speed bumps, etc.
“The four years that I have been driving in East Lansing, I have probably gotten about 30 tickets,” Fossum said.
The cost irritates Alexander even more than the lack of parking.
“The fees to park should be cheaper,” Alexander said. “It's gotten to the point where I've paid more in parking tickets than the actual cost of my Lot 91 pass.”
Fossum’s petition currently has 1,537 supporters. Once she reaches her goal of 5,000 supporters, she intends to take it to the MSU Police Department.
“I know I have already raised a lot of awareness about my petition,” Fossum said. “I’m hoping that with all of the support, I can get prices lowered for hourly parking and the number of parking tickets given out per year reduced.”
