Jill Smith
Staff Writer
[email protected]

Students have more parking options at the Curris Center, thanks to changes started at the beginning of January.

In collaboration with University Parking Services, Student Government Association members worked to find a solution to parking at Murray State after voiced the need for more parking accommodations. 

Students with any color parking pass will now have 25 additional parking spaces where one-hour parking was previously located. One-hour parking will be relocated to the front row of the Curris Center. 

SGA President Ian Puckett had the idea to change the parking layout at the Curris Center. 

“I brought it up to the Executive Committee first, and they were very receptive,” Puckett said. “Then I informed the Senate, and all of them felt that this change should take place.”

Puckett said the University formed the Parking Committee, consisting of five SGA senators, and the Parking Advisory Committee, consisting of three student representatives from SGA, including himself. 

Puckett said both groups met twice before voting on the final recommendation. 

“Amy Krazl, Cole Wyatt and I were the student representatives on the Parking Advisory Committee,” Puckett said. “Amy and Cole had votes, and I did not. The final layout for the Curris Center parking lot was finalized in the Parking Advisory Committee’s second meeting.” 

Murray State Chief of Police Jeff Gentry said SGA approached Parking Services about the Curris Center lot in late 2021. 

“We wanted to ensure we were doing the best we could and make a positive change for our students, and without impacting our recruitment efforts,” Gentry said. 

Puckett said he is pleased with the positive feedback from the changes. 

“Parking is always a heated topic, so I am sure some people are not pleased with the final layout,” Puckett said. “However, we are pleased and think that most students appreciate the new layout.”

Senior Christina Mioux said she is underwhelmed with the changes.  

“I am glad there are more options for student parking, but it seems like the students who could really benefit from more parking options…will have to fight over spots with passes that have plenty of representation throughout campus,” Mioux said. “[Students] with a purple pass have very limited areas to park, and to me, the Curris Center is a good middle spot for those students.”

Senior Cady Stribling said she had no idea the parking layout had changed. 

“I didn’t know that the Curris Center parking lot was any different until I went to park at the beginning of the semester and realized a few of the spots at the front had changed,” Stribling said. “I still am not certain about the parking, so it’d be nice if they had sent something out explaining the changes, unless I just missed it.”

Stribling said she will utilize the new parking layout. 

“The last row is now for everyone and not just one-hour parking, and the one-hour parking has moved to the few spots at the front and beside the tennis courts,” Stribling said. “Before these changes, students only had three rows of parking available to them, which is absolutely not enough.”

Puckett said the change was needed because the Curris Center parking lot should reflect student needs. 

“Before the changes to the lot were made, students could park in roughly one-third of the lot,” Puckett said. “Now students can park in more than half of the spots at the Curris Center. While the final layout is not perfect, it is a great improvement to the lot and the fact that there is more student parking is a huge positive.”