CampusParc discusses student concerns. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Lantern File Photo
With more than 35,000 parking spaces within 16 garages and 196 surface lots, Ohio State students begin each academic year battling the same challenge: parking.
Andy Hartman, a third-year in computer and information science, commutes to the West Buckeye Lot each week. Yet for Hartman, getting to class isn’t always easy due to obstacles such as car congestion and crowding on campus buses
“The biggest thing I faced was traffic,” Hartman said. “Sometimes the buses would be way too full, so some people wouldn’t be able to get on. Sometimes I wouldn’t be able to get on a bus.”
Sarah Blouch, president and CEO of CampusParc, said there is always space for students and faculty.
“I’ve been working with Ohio State since 1995 in parking,” Blouch said. “We’ve never filled the campus, except way back in the early days on a Michigan football game. So, we always have space.”
One of the many resources offered by CampusParc is SureParc, a tool that helps permit holders understand rules for specific parking spaces, and check spot availability for different dates and times.
Blouch said that CampusParc aims to work with students, faculty and staff to find the best parking situation available to them, and have the option to adjust their permit when it doesn’t fulfill their needs.
“The harder discussion with students, faculty and staff is, ‘Oh, you bought a central campus permit, and I don’t have a space for you here. They are all full,’” Bouch said. “But I have spaces out of the Buckeye Lot West Campus, and you’re going to go, ‘Yeah, thanks. That does me no good.’ So, that would be when, and that’s part of why, you can exchange your permits at any time.”
The CampusParc website offers resources like finding the best permit for you or ways to trade out current permits for one that better fits changing needs.
Blouch also said that since COVID-19, a lot of students, faculty and staff are buying parking as they need it, including pay by the day, the hour or through monthly parking permits. She said that while these options are good in certain situations, you get a bulk discount if you buy a pass for the year instead.
CampusParc’s permit comparison tool allows users to compare the pros and cons of different permits to guarantee the best options for them.
Some students feel parking prices are too high and have taken to social media to express their frustration.
“We pay so much money to simply park, just to be forced to circle the parking lots endlessly to find somewhere to park,” one user wrote on a Reddit post asking for student statements around CampusParc. “This morning, I ended up having to pay for garage parking, and even then, I had to park at the top. I’ve had to waste money like this many times because I will be late to class if not.”
CampusParc works with the university to address these concerns.
“We’re trying to figure out how we can better manage expectations,” Blouch said. “And people want certainty. You know, you don’t want to come to campus and go, ‘Where am I going to go hunt for a space today?’ You want to know you can go park somewhere.”
Hartman said his permit feels fairly priced, acknowledging other students may not feel the same.
“I think I am [getting what I pay for], since it lasts for a whole year, but I know some of the parking passes on campus are just really overpriced,” Hartman said.
Vincent DiMaio, a first-year in architecture, offered a simple statement:
“Make parking affordable,” he said.
Blouch stated Ohio State permit prices are within the average of BigTen schools. CampusParc works to make it more affordable each year.
“We’ve been trying to look at ways to right-size it, because if you run those prices out, it gets high,” Blouch said. “And we’re like, I don’t know if that’s the right value for what they’re getting.”
Prices are determined by the concession agreement made between Ohio State and CampusParc in 2012. For the first five years, the agreement included a 5.5% price increase. Now prices rise by 4% or are based on the Midwest Consumer Price Index average, whichever is higher, Blouch said.
Blouch acknowledged that parking can be confusing, and receiving tickets is a frustration many have. That is where SureParc can come in handy to find out when and where certain permits can be parked throughout the day.
Blouch said that for students and faculty new to campus who are unaware they have to buy parking and get ticketed, that CampusParc waives most of those first time tickets.
CampusParc encourages students to reach out for concerns and complaints. The company’s goal is to make parking easy and accessible for everyone.
“We want to hear from people who you know,” Blouch said. “We monitor social media, we monitor Reddit. We hear the complaints, we see them.”
Blouch said the ultimate goal is to make parking a non-issue.
“My goal is parking should be a non-event,” said Blouch. “It’s not something you have to worry about, not something you have to think about, we want you to get a value for what you pay for.”
