To Drive or Not To Drive?

More than 2,000 students and faculty must find a way onto the Cal State Monterey Bay (CSUMB) campus each day for classes. The commuters live off campus, or in the far reaches of East Campus that are not serviced by a reliable shuttle system. Add to those 2,000 people who must find a means of transportation and the percentage of the student body who live on campus yet still drive to class, and you create a campus culture where parking is coveted.

When the campus originally opened for the ’95-’96 academic year, it hosted 654 students. As the number of enrolled students and faculty has grown exponentially, the campus has struggled to grow as well. An increase in the number of students and faculty has created an increase in the number of vehicles, leading to clogged parking lots and frustrated drivers. The current number of cars on campus greatly exceeds the capacity for which the parking lots near most buildings were originally intended.

As the problem gets worse, students gather to take action and discuss ways to combat the ever-growing issue of inadequate parking. CSUMB Transportation Planner Megan Tolbert notes “our CSU has the cheapest and most available [parking], yet we still do not have enough.”

Tolbert facilitated the Transportation Town Hall meeting on Feb. 6, where students and faculty alike discussed ways in which the university could improve transportation across campus. In order to combat the lack of parking and heavy traffic across campus, students discussed ride-share programs, increased shuttle usage, and incentives for those who ride bikes or walk rather than drive their cars. Students at the town hall meeting also proposed indoor bike storage stations and kiosks where bikers could quickly repair their tires or gears in order to facilitate a more bike-friendly experience on campus.

Alternate forms of transportation are available for those who wish to avoid the crush of traffic before every class. CSUMB is a bike, scooter, skateboard, and rollerblade friendly campus, and many students choose not to drive in favor of using the other forms of transport.

Junior, Sage Clark, prefers to ride her bike to class, “because there is less traffic, and when someone drives, [she] could be late” because of the long walk from a far parking lot.

It is increasingly common for students to ride bikes or skateboards in order to make it to class on time, which can lead to dangers for pedestrians who get in the way of the fast-flying bikers and boarders with whom they share the sidewalks.

Other transportation options include the Marina-Salinas Transit (MST) Shuttle, which runs lines 16 and 25 from East Campus to Main Campus, and provides free rides for students who show their student ID card to the driver. Students can also rent bikes from the Otter Cycle Center located in the Student Center, which rents bikes for the day, week, or semester at prices that most students can afford.

Until the issues with parking at CSUMB are resolved, students who choose to drive will still be forced to circle the parking lots like vultures, searching for the one open spot that may never exist. Hopefully the students and faculty together can come to a solution to stop the fight for decent parking spots near classrooms, and encourage more people to consider alternate transportation options. Without such a solution, every person who decides to drive to class is setting themselves up for frustration and a long walk from a far lot to their intended destination.