The 2023 fall semester at the University of West Florida is officially in full swing with record numbers of students on campus. This significant increase in enrollment is a milestone achievement for UWF; however, an increase in students means a decrease in available and convenient parking spots.

The University of West Florida Newsroom states that this is the first time in the university’s history that the number of first-year applicants surpassed 10,000 applications. This record number of students creates a plethora of cars on campus that need parking spaces.

Students leave earlier than normal for class in an attempt to find a parking space that is both close to class and adheres to their individual parking passes.

There are five different types of parking passes including reserved and administrative, faculty and staff, resident, commuter, and motorcycle passes. Separate parking lots and sections of parking lots are divided with signs showing the types of parking passes allowed. If a parked car is not in the designated zone or is lacking a parking pass, a citation is assigned.

The increase in students leads to the question: Have there been more parking citations so far this year? According to UWF Parking and Transportation Services, the answer is no.

UWF Parking Services also states that the addition of students has not had an effect. Some lots are more congested than others, but some lots have unused capacity.

Suggested lots to park in are Lots I, F, and Z. These parking lots are identified on the new UWF Interactive Parking map.

The director of Parking and Transportation Services, Chip Chism, gives his input on the effects of the increase in students.

“Our problem is not a lack of parking,” Chism said. “It is a lack of convenient parking. Lots closer to buildings fill up, but the ones further away never fill up. Simply put, there is always a place to park, but it might not be where people would like it to be.”

With this being said, many students still wonder if there will be an increase in convenient parking in the near future. However, Parking and Transportation Services affirms that full parking capacity is not being used, so there are no plans for more parking.

Rumors about a parking garage circulated, however, this has been denied due to a couple of setbacks.

First, the cost would be anywhere from 25 million to 30 million dollars and this money would need to be raised by parking permits and citations. This monetary issue is a problem because the state and university tuition do not fund parking; parking is an auxiliary.

Second, there is not an accessible place to put a parking garage on campus. The nature preserve on the west side of campus limits parking space. Therefore, a garage would need to be placed in a less immediate position than the rest of the campus parking lots.