Parking crunch vexes students

With the start of the semester comes the headache of finding a place to park for many Cal State Long Beach students.

For many, the only way to get to school is by car and the staff of Parking and Transportation Services is doing its best to make it easy for students to get from their homes to their classes.

A mailing was sent to students illustrating new changes in the parking lots and explaining services available through the parking administration to make the beginning semester parking problems easier.

"We're making an effort this year to try to communicate better with the students, that's why we made this brochure," said Nash Carrillo, transportation and access services manager.

New changes in the parking lots include student parking in Lot 3 behind the Student Health Center, and parking meters and carpool spaces in Lot A.

Currently, there are approximately 10,000 parking spaces on campus. Due to the greater demand for spaces, a parking structure has been under construction for the past year. However, it will not be open for use until next semester after it has been reinforced to withstand earthquakes.

"The structure will give everyone parking past the year 2000 without any questions," said E. H. Henry, field service manager.

As an alternate means of getting to campus, students are given access to a free shuttle serving the communities that are approximately one mile east and west of the campus. They run every ten or fifteen minutes depending on the shuttle schedule.

Subsidized bus passes are available at the University Bookstore for those who wish to take advantage of public transportation and not deal with any parking hassles.

Carpooling is another option available for students as a means of getting to campus and can be arranged with Parking and Transportation Services.

The Parking and Transportation Services office is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call (310)985-4146 for information.