Kirkwood’s Iowa City campus announced that it was closing at the end of May 2023 and stated that most operations that were previously at Iowa City would be relocated to Kirkwood’s Regional Center at the University of Iowa in Coralville. This merging of campuses has caused major parking issues at the Regional Center.
The campus only has one parking lot available to students and teachers. On the first day of fall classes, the lot was completely full by 9 a.m., causing campus security to start directing cars into the grass to park.
This strategy of overflow parking is continuing to happen because of the number of students on campus. It can get pretty chaotic in between classes when students are both coming and going.
The main campus in Cedar Rapids has also faced some parking issues. Despite there being 34 parking lots scattered around Kirkwood, many students have complained about the struggle to find a spot that’s still close to classes. The lot is first come first serve, leading to the closest lots to be the most full. Most spaces are available to students except disability spaces, which are reserved for vehicles that display a valid Iowa disability identification and visitor spaces, available for guests. These should not be used by Kirkwood students, faculty or staff that don’t meet these requirements.
Kirkwood’s parking rules are based on Section 206C.14 of the Code of Iowa, which applies to all campuses. Reckless driving and speeding are prohibited throughout the parking lot. Fees for violations are considered to be the same as other debts owed to the college.
If someone receives a ticket they have three options; pay the fee at the 2nd floor of Kirkwood Hall, mail the fee to Kirkwood in the ticket envelope provided, or submit an appeal form within 48 hours.
More information is located on Kirkwood’s homepage and can also be obtained by contacting campus security.
Kirkwood’s parking lots are first come first serve so the earlier the arrival, the more available spots. Both the main campus and regional center lots tend to fill up quicker and be the busiest on Mondays and Wednesdays, the days that majority of students have classes.
Faculty has acknowledged the issue but nothing has been said regarding a solution toward the parking shortage.
Categories: Opinion
