While the Baker University campus is home to many great opportunities, the option to easily find a parking spot is not one of them. It is not uncommon for students and faculty to have to spend time searching the areas around campus in order to find a place to legally park their vehicle. In order to address parking struggles, Baker University administration has begun to enforce the use of parking permits.

Beginning in Spring of 2019 there became a push for students to ensure that their cars are properly marked as student vehicles. Not only do the parking permits ensure university officials that it is in fact students taking up parking spaces, but they also allow for students to be contacted if their vehicles need to be removed from their location.

Associate Vice President of Capital Planning, Facilities & Emergency Management Scott George explained that the push for the parking permits stems from an increase in unidentified cars parked in university parking lots and the need for knowing if these cars belong to students or other people whose cars do not belong in our parking areas.

“By implementing the stickers, it helps us with two things. One, it helps us make sure people are parking where they are supposed to be. Two, if there is an issue with somebody’s vehicle it allows us to be able to get ahold of them without necessarily having to tow their vehicle,” George said.

If a vehicle is found in an illegal area without a parking permit, it has become university policy to first place a piece of paper stating the infraction and the directions to apply for a parking permit under the windshield wiper blade.

The second time that the vehicle is found in a place that it should not be and without proper identification, a sticker will be attached to the vehicle’s window with the infraction and parking permit directions. All vehicles illegally parked are subject to being towed from the space and/or dealt with via the Baldwin City police force.

Faculty members also have parking permits that they can add to their windshields. These stickers are slowly being implemented in hopes that in a matter of four years nearly every student and faculty member will have a parking permit on their vehicle.

Many students already had parking permits in their vehicles before the push for every student to get them. Junior Ashley Pippin received her parking permit during orientation her freshman year and found it to be an extremely easy process.

Sophomore Talon Strouhal also received her parking permit during freshman orientation, but Strouhal is still very aware of the recent push for all students to receive them.

“I do think that putting big stickers on your car is a bit much but at the same time it does bring your attention to getting one. It can be a hassle for some people considering the security office isn’t on campus anymore, but it could save them time making them available on campus once they are made,” Strouhal said.

Overall, Baker University officials hope to see an improvement in communication with students about their parking while also seeing an increase in the number of open parking spaces on campus.