The Never Ending Headache of Marist Parking

Marist College's Hoop Lot packed with cars. Credit: Erin Holton '25

You’re a student or faculty member driving onto campus. The class starts in about 15 minutes. The lots you want to park in are already packed. Other cars flew down the rows on the same hunt, almost crashing into one another. Some drive around endlessly, while others stalk those ready to pull out of spots. 

This is the daily routine for Marist College community members who bring vehicles on campus. It’s a routine that makes many of us want to pull our hair out.

The parking at Marist is a never-ending butt-of-the-joke and headache for those who need to come onto campus. It’s almost as if it’s a right of passage for those who attend the college. 

Marist class of 2016 alumni, Jessica Fannelli, Sabrina Forgione and Meredith Farrell, who made the Red Fox Media blog during their time at Marist, highlighted the parking dilemmas. 

“Marist security believes giving [commuter] students two lots to park in is enough, when it is proven to not be,” wrote Forgione in her piece about Marist parking. “Students leave for classes a half hour early to find a spot because there tends to be a ruckus with everyone driving around.”

Marist advertising professor Daniel Hickey ‘15 recalls his time on campus as a student when dealing with parking then. His view was a bit different from the others who were at the college at the same time as him. 

“Parking was okay at the time. It was before they did the construction of the new Gartland,” said Hickey. “Specifically, I didn't have too many issues finding a spot. It was more so finding spots near the underpass.”

Hickey has the unique experience where he now has experienced the pain of parking as a student and, now, as a faculty member of his alma mater. However, he feels that nothing has changed all that much for him in his stance on the parking.  

Since the alumni’s time at Marist, there have been new developments within the parking lots trying to give those with registered vehicles equal playing ground to find parking. 

Back in 2021, the Fontaine Lot – well-known for students stalking spots, then driving in once a car leaves – was reserved for faculty/staff only. Now, they’ve opened it up to both commuters and residents. 

Yes, it’s been helpful, but also, it has also grown the hunt for students to find decent, convenient parking. Despite tweaks to the parking layout over the past few years – like expanding the 51/57 Fulton lot – parking is still a nuisance for everyone involved. 

As a commuter student, parking is limiting as the majority of complaint parking spots are further down Fulton Street, thus the trek to class becomes longer than wanted. We already have to leave at a certain time to beat traffic and find suitable parking, so not being able to have many options on the main part of campus has been a struggle for years now.

“People want to park where it’s more convenient for themselves,” said John Blaisdell, director of Safety and Security at Marist. “It’s first come, first serve, so it's hard.”

For the Safety and Security department at Marist, monitoring the parking became increasingly hectic once the spring semester rolled in. Blaisdell said that this semester brought on 500 more parking decals due to students gaining more credits to allow their cars on campus and the college hiring around 100 more people to work on the campus. 

As a result, Blaisdell reported that 3,000 parking tickets were distributed this academic year alone. For others who continued breaking the campus parking rules, boots have made an appearance on one of their tires. 

“I don't know if this is viable, but maybe [they should open] access in specific lots to students, faculty and staff just to open up access to different parts of campus,” suggested Hickey. “I think there's room for improvement, but I don't think it's terribly bad.”

Specifically for commuter students, I suggest allowing a bit more commuter parking on the main part of campus where the majority of classes are like in the Hoop and St. Ann’s Lot. Furthermore, residential students and faculty/staff have reserved lots for their decals, so it would be fair for the commuters to have at least one reserved lot for them on the main part of campus. With Fox Run as a popular off-campus student residence and those who live there considered commuters for vehicle registration, this could build a more equal playing field for people seeking parking on a daily basis. 

The campus’ hands are tied on trying to make any new adjustments and developments, so the headache we have today with parking will continue with incoming Red Foxes.  

“I don’t see anything new happening in the near future for the parking,” said Blaisdell.