For commuter students, there is one thing that is prized over everything else: a parking spot. Those have been harder than usual to come by lately.

In December, construction began on the Learning Commons. To accommodate all of the equipment needed for the construction, the lot known as “Little Naz” was closed. Staff who parked there were relocated to the lower Pit, one of the main student parking lots, thus displacing the students and forcing them to look for parking in lots farther away.

For a student to park in Naz and have class in any other building besides McGowan, they now need to go up and around most of the campus, because the sidewalk leading to the Liberal Arts Center has been fenced in. So, students aren’t parking in Naz. Instead, they are parking in the Center for Athletics and Wellness. Now, as a commuter student who is also broke, I do not have a campus parking permit. Personally, I think $200 for a pass is too expensive, especially this semester when parking is so limited.

Last semester, I had no problem finding off-campus parking and walking to my classes. However, I have had a much harder time with parking since the semester began. It seems that resident students who have already paid for parking permits have been parking on the few side streets by campus that don’t need a residential permit.

While I can sympathize and understand that if you live in Regina, you do not want to park in the Center for Athletics and Wellness, but if you have a permit, use it. Specifically, when an individual is parking their car on the street and leaving it there for weeks at a time, it only creates more problems and inconveniences for those in need of parking.