Parking is still proving to be a challenge for students as they enter the fourth week of the semester and find Cal State Long Beach parking lots unusually crowded for this time of year.
“This is the busiest parking has been since 2008,” said Mark Rudometkin, general manager of parking and transportation services.
CSULB has had a relatively large increase in permit sales for fall 2011 in comparison to fall 2010.
“We have over 20,500 permits sold for the school year so far,” Rudometkin said. “I’m guessing that 700 to 800 more permits have sold since fall 2010.”
This number may not be far from the truth as enrollment totals have also increased in the last year. Currently, CSULB has 34,848 students enrolled for the fall 2011 academic year, according to the CSULB Institutional Research and Assessment enrollment tracking report for fall 2011.
This represents an increase of 1,453 students enrolled since fall 2010.
Although traffic usually thins after the first three weeks of the semester, it has remained unusually heavy, according to Rudometkin.
“It was surprising because we did not anticipate it being this busy,” Rudometkin said.
Parking has been so difficult at times that parking and transportation services have been forced to use overflow parking by letting students park in open employee spots located in Lots 12 and 18, Rudometkin said.
“Even with 3,800 unique riders using the U-Pass instead of driving to campus, parking is just as packed,” Rudometkin said.
The closure of the Seventh Street Bridge off the northbound 405 Freeway is also believed to be adding to the heavy traffic flow on campus and in nearby streets, such as Atherton Street and Palo Verde Avenue, Rudometkin said.
“The closure has minimized traffic on West Campus Drive, but has caused students to take alternative routes to parking,” he added.
While parking every day on campus can be difficult, Tuesdays and Thursdays are the busiest, according to Rudometkin.
For students who arrive in the mid-afternoon, parking and transportation services advises trying Parking Structure 1, as well as Parking Lots 13, 14 and 16.
These are where students with morning classes park the most, so parking spots tend to become available in the afternoon there, Rudometkin said.
Rudometkin also recommends students remain patient while looking for a parking spot.
“It is the responsibility of the driver to know the flow of traffic and to follow it,” Rudometkin said. “Driving the wrong direction to get to a parking spot first is not worth getting into an accident.”
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