Two campus parking lots immediately adjacent to the campus will soon be closed as construction begins on the new Edward “Ted” Taylor Science and Engineering Building, the school announced recently.
Students have since voiced rising frustrations with the parking system on campus as a whole.
The email sent out to students Sept. 18 stated, “Starting as early as Oct. 12, access to Parking Lot 19 will be permanently closed, and Parking Lot 13 will be closed for the duration of construction and is slated to reopen when the project is completed.”
For students like Alexandria Mendez, a commuter, the changes have only added to the difficulties of parking at CSUMB.
“It has not been great,” Mendez said. “Parking is difficult to find at all hours of the day. Even when coming early for classes, it does not change the effect it has on punctuality because of there not being open spaces.”
In a recent Town Hall meeting held by the Facilities Management Department on campus, President Vanya Quiñones also shed some light on further plans to reduce parking on campus in response to an audience member’s question.
When asked about support for parking structures and parking lots around campus, Quiñones said, “We understand that there is a lot of concern about parking today. As you may or may not know, the campus is designed as a walking campus. So technically, on the master plan, all the central parking will be eliminated eventually. That was done on the 2022 plan.”
Quiñones went on to share that there were plans in the works to address frustrations with parking, with community groups weighing in on possible solutions.
“We acknowledge that some people are frustrated with the parking situation, so maybe we will have some parking spaces that are designated for staff and faculty,” Quiñones said.
When told about the Lot 19 and Lot 13 closures, Mendez expressed concern. “I was not aware of the closures, and it will affect me since Lot 13 is my preferred place to park, and since it is next to the World Theatre, I do like to use that one on event nights,” Mendez said. “Those lots are heavily used and seem like one of the most accessible to students with disabilities since they don’t have to walk up a hill if they’re parking down by the OSU or from super far away at Lot 59.”
With the plan in place to remove most main campus parking and move it to outlying areas around campus, there is some disagreement around the decision.
In further related news, a message went out to CSUMB students and particularly student employees announcing that Lot 59, located on the northeast edge of campus on Seventh Avenue and A Street, will be used by Monterey Peninsula College’s police academy to park training vehicles.
The announcement stated, “The Police Academy and some other first responder academies also sometimes use the lot for training and exercises. Lot 59 will continue to have plenty of spaces for Cal State Monterey Bay students, faculty and staff.”
As CSUMB moves forward with its “walkable campus” vision, students like Mendez say they want to see more reliable solutions put in place, whether that means better shuttle services, clearer communication about closures, or rethinking the use of existing lots.