Throughout the year and a half that I've been parking in Lot 59, my resentment toward both the lot and ASU Parking and Transportation Services has accumulated over the difficulties and frustrations I have faced.
After spending my freshman year on the Downtown Phoenix campus, I moved back home, which meant I needed to purchase a parking permit. As someone who splits their time between the Downtown Phoenix and Tempe campuses, I had a wide range of options to choose from, especially because there are cross-parking locations on each campus.
The Downtown Phoenix campus parking permits cost much more than any of the other campuses. For commuters, the prices range from $480 to $1,020, and for on-campus residents, they range from $855 to $1,080. As for Tempe campus parking permits, commuter pricing ranges from $280 to $780, while on-campus residents can pick between passes that cost $720, $790 and $855.
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I searched all of my options and landed on Lot 59 — the cheapest out of the two campuses, priced at $280. While I made that choice myself, I did not understand the implications that come with parking there.
Both Cristal Munoz, a sophomore studying psychology, and Aleena Haugen, a sophomore studying neuroscience and psychology, also have parking passes for Lot 59.
They each said one of their biggest frustrations was walking to class in the heat.
"I'm dripping in sweat," Munoz said. "When I get to class, I don't even know if I smell bad."
It takes me 15 to 20 minutes to walk from my car to class, about a mile away. While I do like to walk, I agree with both Munoz and Haugen that when it's still hot outside, it can make me overheated and irritated.
Haugen suggested there be more shade so that during the hot summer months, the walk would be more bearable.
I do, however, purposefully park at either the northernmost part of the lot or on the side facing Packard Drive, so I don't have people hitting the sides of my car with their water bottles or bodies. We tend to walk between the cars as a shortcut, but because people can't ever learn how to park straight, it makes the paths between more narrow, and you tend to hit a side mirror or two.
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Since Lot 59 also functions as parking for games held at Mountain American Stadium and Desert Financial Arena, PTS informs permit holders to relocate and park at a suggested location.
Most of the time, they recommend Lot 3 by ASU Gammage, Lot 72 at the southernmost part of campus or the Rural Road Parking Structure.
Munoz said, personally, it's not ideal parking in garages for game days, let alone buying a parking pass for one, because they can be dangerous, more compact and you're less likely to get a spot.
Haugen said the plan is to stick with a Lot 59 parking pass despite the annoyances.
"I can't afford to spend $900 a year on parking, I think it's outrageous," Haugen said. "ASU has enough money."
Like Haugen, I will continue to purchase a permit for Lot 59 regardless of the downsides. I can't afford to pay more to attend the University.
"ASU Parking and Transit Services strives to make parking as accessible and affordable as possible for our community, and while rates haven't increased in nearly two decades, permit options are priced based on proximity and demand," a University spokesperson said in a written statement.
I've noticed that as this semester has progressed, there has been an increase in parking tickets on car windshields and more parking monitors stationed on the outskirts of parking lots.
I see the monitors sitting or even lying down in their carts, just waiting on their phones before they go around to check each vehicle's information and issue a citation if they are parked improperly.
However, according to the University spokesperson, "there has been no increase in enforcement or 'crack down' on passes beyond the normal university business practices."
In the past, I have had issues with parking citations for a "not displayed" pass, because when I first bought it, I was not given a physical placard to display in my windshield; I was told the permit should be connected to my license plate.
It was thus extremely frustrating when I received these citations, because I had already paid to park there. To avoid paying the fine, I had to appeal the tickets and defend myself.
Despite my perception of the increase in patrolling, I am grateful that the monitors this semester are doing their due diligence and looking up my license plate number rather than just going to the front of my car, looking at the rearview mirror, seeing no hanging pass and jumping to issue a citation.
I'm glad PTS takes parking seriously, but I wish there were better and cheaper options that didn't leave me aggravated before I even get to class.
Edited by Carsten Oyer, Senna James, Sophia Braccio and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at elbradfo@asu.edu and follow @emmalbradford__ on X.
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Emma Bradford is a junior studying journalism and mass communication and political science with a minor in business. She has previously worked at the Cronkite News Washington, D.C. bureau as a Politics and Money Reporter. Bradford is in her fourth semester with The State Press and on the politics desk.
