Parking on campus should not be this difficult. Yes, 200 more spaces are coming to West Road Garage, but what are we to do in the mean time?

So far, solutions have been of little help. The contractor has opened up 28 more spaces in West Road Garage (as of Sept. 7) and University Police has tightened their already overbearing regulation of the Freret Street parking garage.

Unfortunately, patrolling more frequently does not create more spaces. This isn’t a matter of people without permits parking. There simply aren’t enough spots for people who have paid for permits.

As the expansion of the West Road Garage was a part of the strategic plan, the University Parking committee knew this was coming. They had plenty of time to effect policy changes to solve this problem.

Some things that come to mind are not selling parking permits to freshman, not overbooking the garage and leasing parking off campus and providing a shuttle to campus.

To further aggravate the situation, 15 spots in the Freret Street parking garage are reserved for Tulane students and faculty. This is to accommodate their loss of parking due to West Road Garage construction. Fair is fair, but more planning would be appreciated.

Would you pay $400 anywhere else for a maybe and a lot of stress?