As LSU is currently in the process of constructing new buildings, a problem still lurks in the foliage, like a tiger on the hunt: parking.

Parking is always an issue on campus. I have a few friends who are commuters, and one of them told me that he just didn’t go to class one day because he couldn’t find parking.

LSU has a parking problem that is stacking up; but what if LSU built more parking towers to topple this problem?

Right now, LSU only has two different parking towers; one for Nicholson Gateway Apartments and the other by Barnes and Noble for East Campus residents. For a university as vast and populous as LSU, two seems like a low number of parking structures.

However, fear not, LSU also has giant parking lots off S. Quad Drive by the Patrick F. Taylor building. However, if you want to have even a chance at getting a spot, you have to leave super early in the morning.

As a current freshman living on campus, I thankfully don’t have to worry about this, but I know next year I’m gonna be struggling with parking.

It seems sort of like these two ideas should work together, build more housing and therefore,build more parking. However, there has been no announcement for a plan to improve or build more parking.

LSU also made the bold move to make the East Campus Apartments (ECA) exclusive to freshmen, causing all the upperclassmen who were living in ECA to vacate and live somewhere else.

This isn’t even considering what the executive director of Residential Life, Peter Trentacoste, said about the number of beds that will be in the new dorms.

“As we look at the analysis as we figure out where we are and what demand we had this last year and what we project for the future, we feel like we need at least another 900 beds, and those 900 beds will be purposefully built for first-year students,” said Trentacoste.

While Trentacoste was probably optimistic about this figure, that is still a lot of new students. Even if just half of his estimated students have a vehicle, that is still 450 more spots for residents.

Not to mention that a lot of freshmen that came in this year, and most of them will be off campus next year, causing further parking struggles.

Therefore, the university must build more parking towers. There are a few areas that would be prime candidates for said installation.

One of those spots is the Aster St. West parking lot. This mix-use parking lot, which is currently made of gravel, isn’t that big, but is made of four or five stories that can provide ample parking. You could even section off the first few floors to be for commuters and the top floors for residents. But one of the drawbacks of this location is that it is unfortunately usually empty as it is.

However, former Edward Gay Apartments and Kirby Smith Hall, two locations Trentacoste has put as finalists for new dorm spots, would be close to this “new” parking tower. Considering that around 190 parking spots would be taken up if the former is picked, this makes this lot a perfect spot for a tower.

Another site could be the lot on East Parker Blvd. This is a commuter lot that bisects Ag Center Dr. The tower would be built in the larger part of the parking lot south of this street.

This would be a good site for a parking tower even without two of the proposed dorm locations, being the site of West Parker Lot X175 and the “Greenhouse” site, near Miller and Herget Halls.
Another spot where a parking tower would greatly benefit students would be the lot across from the Business Education Complex (BEC), known as the Front Nine lot. This location is also close to one of the proposed dorm locations.

Three of the four proposed locations will require removing hundreds of parking spots, but a new tower here would also help mitigate the amount of parking lost in the creation of the new dorm.

If LSU doesn’t do something about the inaccessibility of parking on campus, they may have to take more drastic measures, like preventing non-commuter students from parking on campus. While this would open up plenty of parking spots for commuters, this guideline would drastically harm in-state students who have to drive themselves to work.

LSU must prioritize its current student body before it can build housing for future students; the way that LSU can do both is by building more parking towers.

These parking towers would not only allow residents to keep their vehicles on campus but also provide ample parking for commuters.

Andrew Sarhan is a freshman mass communication major from Baton Rouge, La.