Every year in late July—early August, off-campus students flock to the CU parking page to get the illusive parking pass. For five days straight, Undergraduate and Graduate students flood to the parking page after gaining access, only to find issues with zoning, a lack of parking spaces left, and waitlists that never seem to free up. 

When paying over $480 for a parking spot a year, one would expect to have it all year round. This is not the case at the University of Colorado Boulder. While purchasing a parking pass, students are assured that they have 24-hour access to their parking spot for the Fall and Spring semesters, except when they are hosting an event. The university frequently uses student parking lots for events, which leads to an increased demand for parking spaces and leaves off-campus students feeling helpless while trying to find a parking spot for the afternoon classes. 

On days when the University holds events many of the lots will be closed for the day and students will have a day or two of notice. Sometimes students will be allowed to park in other locations, however, these lots fill up fast and are sometimes hard to get to based on traffic. When these lots fill up it makes it difficult for students to attend classes, and sometimes recitations, which are credit for attendance driven. 

A solution to these problems is to have specific instructors hold classes online so that students can be accommodated appropriately for these closures. This solution ensures that students can still attend online when they do not have to be physically in class during parking lot closures. Additionally, this would aid in parking congestion, as some students who do more hands-on learning or work on campus will be able to park in their alternative lot without a problem. 

We want to call out Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff Leonard Dinegar. He is responsible for deciding on snow days and could help mandate online class days for students who can't make it to campus because of parking closures. 
 
Parking at the University of Colorado Boulder is exceptionally challenging. Currently, no free parking is available, which poses a financial burden on many students. I urge the University of Colorado Boulder to review its event parking plan and encourage students to support this petition. Thank you.