Friday, March 29, 2024

Parking shouldnt be complicated

I am new to the East Lansing area, having just graduated from law school out-of-state.

I often study on campus to have a change of scenery. I recently decided to spend more time studying on campus, and purchased a series of visitor parking passes. Having come from a large out-of-state university, I am fully aware of the common practice used by university parking services.

I made sure I fully understood the specific area designated for visitor parking. I was told by two parking services employees that visitor parking is available to “all facilities with the exception of the spaces designated with parking meters.”

On June 7, I parked in the lot designated “visitor and commuter parking” on Shaw Lane directly across from the International Center. As I left the lot, the attendant proceeded to charge me $7 for parking, on top of the $5 it cost me for the visitor’s day pass.

As nice as the attendant was, she could not explain to me why I had to pay an additional $7 to park in a lot that is specifically designated for visitors.

When I approached parking services, they were also unable to provide me with a reasonable explanation.

Why would I take the time to purchase a visitor pass to park in a lot if I have to pay for parking anyway? If visitors are allowed to park there, then I am not running the risk of having my car ticketed for failure to have an MSU student parking sticker. The reason why you purchase a visitor pass is to avoid paying, isn’t it?

This letter is to let parking services know I am on to you. In the future, maybe you should be a little more specific when telling visitors where to park.

I am quite sure if you tell visitors they will have to pay an additional fee to park, they will not be bothering you for the visitor’s pass.

Kevin Havens
Lansing resident

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