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Commuter parking options have only decreased at West Chester University since M1 Lot was taken away; is it possible that it has already gotten worse this school year?
As a university with approximately 70% commuters, WCU does not have enough parking spots to accommodate everyone. Because commuters are struggling to find parking on North Campus, even from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., many students have resorted to parking on South Campus.
Izzy Felice, a third-year student who is commuting for the first time, has a lot to say about the parking crisis. “To get to West Chester, it’s about fifteen minutes, but I have to park in Q Lot most of the time because of lack of parking spots, and that takes nineteen minutes.” While that might not seem like much time, they also have to wait for the shuttle, which can take almost double that time, if not longer. “It is a new stress to try and find parking.”
The parking crisis has been an issue at West Chester for years, but it’s become worse since Matlack Court was built on the old M1 Lot on East Campus. M1 Lot used to have approximately 150 spaces available to students, but temporary modular housing (Matlack Court) was built from 2024-2025, which took away those parking spots.
In the Department of Public Safety’s 2025 Parking Manual, the Department encourages students to give themselves extra time to find parking, though they don’t seem to take into account how long a commute actually takes. On page three, the guidelines note, “Be prepared to spend an additional 10 to 20 minutes getting to your destination once you arrive at the campus.”
However, 10 to 20 minutes is an underestimate. According to Felice, who lives 15 minutes from campus, “I have to leave my house 40 minutes before my class starts because it takes 20 minutes to get to Q Lot [and] 20 minutes to make sure I get to class through the shuttle, so that’s been really stressful.”
When asked about whether they are late to class, Felice mentioned, “Usually, I’m pretty on time, but it makes me a couple [of] minutes late because of the shuttle.”
Meanwhile, fourth-year Colin McVety has been delayed even more because of the shuttle. “There was one time I just gave up going to my first class because [I] missed half of it. That happened last semester, too, a couple [of] times. The parking was so bad.”
As for where Felice parks, they always park at Q Lot because M Lot is usually full. However, while Q Lot is typically a reliable place to park, it’s closed for football games, limiting parking even further. “Q Lot is pretty cool for parking because there’s always spots, but there are Q Lot closures for football games, so [during Homecoming Weekend], I couldn’t park there.”
McVety also parks at Q Lot, though he used to be able to find spots in Sykes, M Lot and Matlack Garage. “This is the first year I’m [parking in Q Lot]… I just gave up on parking in Sykes.”
It seems there are few options for commuters or on-campus students to park. Besides commuter parking, Felice brought up the valid concern of visitor parking. “There are a lot of different places you can park, but they’re usually full, no matter where you go. If you want to park somewhere else, like, for instance, if I wanted to visit [the East Village], I can’t park [there]. I have to take a shuttle, and I think that’s annoying. I feel like I should be able to park in other places, like even if I had to sign up for it that day.”
One may wonder what a possible solution could be to these ongoing parking issues. According to McVety, “West Chester should admit [fewer] students. I’m sure I’m not the first to say that.”
Charlotte Ruth is a fourth-year English major with minors in Creative Writing and Italian Studies. CR1009174@wcupa.edu.