Parking Woes at Marist: Director of Safety and Security Addresses Problems

With the spring semester well underway, Marist University’s security team has had its hands full with a plethora of issues related to parking.

“It’s really challenging this semester,” said Director of Safety and Security Daniel Gough. “We’re working on a lot of different things to improve parking for years to follow.”

To find a solution that works for everyone, Gough assembled a focus group representing a wide demographic of students, aiming to reach every segment of the student body. The group included student residents, commuters, athletes, students from each class, student government representatives and students from every housing location on campus.

The group met on Feb. 5, 2025, from 11:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Ulrich Room at the Dyson Center. Gough began the meeting by addressing why Marist has so many parking issues. These issues stem from four primary conflicts. First, 590 students attained the parking permit 50-credit minimum requirement this semester. 

On top of that, 375 permit-eligible students returned from studying abroad. For context, only 189 permit-eligible students are studying abroad in the spring 2025 semester. 

The security office also estimates that more than 100 students who do not meet the permit requirements are parking on campus, meaning there are roughly 1,065 new students in potential need of parking.

“That is the most ever for Marist [students] that attained a parking pass between the fall and spring semester,” said Gough.

This issue is, finally, compounded by the recent loss of 98 student-resident parking spaces due to the construction of the new track and turf field.

Gough then asked a series of questions to gauge what solutions would work for students and what would not. The biggest takeaways were that students want more communication about parking and would prefer notifications be sent via a Marist safety app and/or email. 

Students also strongly support a campus shuttle system. The focus group supported parking permits for either East or West Campus based solely on housing assignment and the construction of potential new parking lots on the East Campus perimeter, regardless of specific location.

“What was interesting to me was students’ biggest concern with parking in remote lots, especially on East Campus, was not the distance from West Campus, but rather their safety walking from the parking lot to residence halls,” said Gough.

Gough believes a campus shuttle system would be an effective solution to this conflict, as it would limit student traffic on campus while also increasing safety for students concerned about walking from remote lots.

Students also unanimously supported a parking permit fee, which would require students to pay a fee each semester before obtaining a parking permit. The money collected would be used to cover recurring student parking program expenses and targeted parking program improvements.

Typical student parking permit fees can range from $50 to $200, depending on the university, lot location and whether the student is a commuter or resident. The national average is around $100 per semester.

Another project Gough looks to complete during the summer is restriping several campus parking lots to create more spaces.

“The two lots that will see the most change are the upper and lower Hoop Lots,” said Gough. “If we change that orientation and make these long lanes, we gain almost 100 spots down there.”