The Pepperdine “parking problem” is about convenience, not availability

Cars parked extremely close in Rho parking lot. Students complain that parking spaces are too small (Photo by Eden Dorsey).

Pepperdine students are quick to identify a “parking problem” on campus.   

A Pepp Post poll of 54 students found that 82 percent of Pepperdine students spend 10 minutes or less searching for a parking space on campus. Los Angeles drivers spend an average of 12 minutes searching for an empty parking space, according to ABC7. Pepperdine’s parking problem is a shortage of convenient parking spaces, not a lack of physical parking spaces on campus.

“I know from data collected regarding designated street and parking lot usage that there are always more spaces available than needed,” Public Safety Director Dawn Emrich said. “Even during peak hours of the school day.”

Pepperdine students struggle to find parking spaces near main campus and complain about the compact size of parking spaces. Comparable universities, including Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara and Biola, alleviate parking problems by instituting stricter parking policies.

Parking struggles on campus  

“Students are often looking for parking in the closest areas to main campus where they may be having class,” Emrich said. “But at any time there are always hundreds of parking spaces available that are a little bit more remote on campus. So for example, the Terrace lot behind the law school or on Via Pacifica there are always many many spaces available at any time on campus in those locations.”

The Pepp Post poll found that 30 percent of Pepperdine students have chosen to park on campus illegally for convenience, and 39 percent parked illegally when they said they couldn’t find a space. Few students search for parking spaces in remote areas on campus despite Pepperdine offering a shuttle service that runs all day.

“Finding parking at the business school is easy,” Weishu Wang, a graduate global business major, said.

A Pepp Post poll asked students how long they spent searching for parking spaces on campus.

Proximity to main campus is not the only reason students perceive a lack of available parking spaces on campus. The Pepp Post poll found that 67 percent of Pepperdine students find it difficult to fit their car into parking spaces in student lots.

“The parking spots in Rho and Firestone are compact,” Jessie Jiao, a graduate applied finance major, said. “It is always difficult to park, and I drive a sports car not an SUV.”

Some students find it difficult to exit their cars.

“It’s just such a compact space that I can’t get out of my car without shimmying through my car door,” Bri Wilson, a sophomore sports medicine major, said.

Additionally, many students are involved in minor accidents.

“In Towers parking lot, the spaces are so small and the lanes are so close together that all three of my suitemates and I have had accidents,” Grace Palmer, a sophomore biological science major, said. “Just small accidents where (you) scrape the side of cars when you’re  pulling in.”

Car with a scratch and dent in Towers parking lot. Other students witnessed a peer attempting to pull into a small parking space (Photo by Eden Dorsey).

According to the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, standard stalls should be a minimum of 8-feet and 4-inches wide and 18-feet deep, while stalls serving dwelling units should be a minimum of 8-feet and 6-inches wide and 18-feet deep.

Pepperdine student lots are not built to code.

Pepp Post measured parking spaces in four students lots and found many did not meet Los Angeles building code.

Austin Oakes, director of Planning, Operations and Construction, did not respond to numerous requests for comment. Rick Gibson, vice president for Public Affairs, said he could not respond.

Parking policies at other California campuses

Pepperdine students are not fond of the solutions other California campuses have implemented to deal with parking, including charging for parking permits and banning first-year students from owning cars.

The Pepp Post found that 65 percent of Pepperdine students consider having a car on campus to be a necessity. However, only 40 percent would be willing to pay for parking on campus.

“I could not afford to pay for parking on top of tuition, gas and car maintenance,” first-year economics major Taleah Phillips said.

A parking permit for the main lot is $686 annually at Loyola Marymount, $400 annually at Santa Clara and $240 annually at Biola.

“Everyone has to pay — students, faculty, staff, visitors,” said Gary Bolton, director of Parking and Transportation at Loyola Marymount.

Furthermore, the purchase of a parking permit does not guarantee the availability of on campus parking, according to Loyola Marymount’s parking rules and policies.

First-year students living in residence halls are not permitted cars on campus, according to Santa Clara’s parking rules and policies. The Pepp Post found that 87 percent of Pepperdine students believe first-year students should be allowed to have cars on campus.

Emrich said parking spaces in designated student lots are accessible for all Pepperdine students free of charge.

Parking solutions at other California campuses

Universities that charge an additional fee to park on campus can put more money toward developing parking solutions.

The cost of a parking structure can range from $35 per square foot to $65 per square foot, according to the International Parking Institute.

Parking fees are used to pay for parking construction and parking operations. At Loyola, this includes a parking garage and complimentary valet, according to Loyola Parking and Transportation.

Bolton said there are more than 4,000 parking spaces available on Loyola’s campus. Parking is not an issue for students during any time of the day or week. However, nearby residents have made complaints to Loyola about increased student parking in neighborhoods due to the cost of parking permits.

Santa Clara houses a four-story parking garage on north campus with a self-service kiosk to pay for daily parking.

Similarly, Biola houses a five-story parking garage between the their soccer and baseball fields.

Students still have complaints about the size of parking spaces in residential lots at Biola, Rebecca Mitchell, managing editor of the student newspaper, said.

While Pepperdine does not currently offer a valet service or have a parking garage on main campus, it houses a parking garage on the Drescher graduate campus. Parking spaces are available for upperclassmen who are Drescher residents.

The Pepperdine Department of Design and Construction is in the initial stages of planning to build an additional parking garage in Smothers lot for faculty and staff.

Eden Dorsey completed the reporting for this story under the supervision of Dr. Christina Littlefield and Dr. Theresa de los Santos in Jour 241 in fall 2017. Dr. Littlefield supervised the writing of the web article.