In Boone finding parking is harder than finding a needle in a haystack. Actually, the needle is easier to find because at least its existence is guaranteed. In Boone, there’s no guarantee of finding parking anywhere.
Well, that’s misleading. There’s a lot of parking in Boone, but most of it is inaccessible. Every lot seems to have a “private parking” sign that says all non-authorized vehicles will be towed, usually by Bill’s Garage.
Trying to find parking on campus is difficult, too. Before 5 p.m. a pass is needed to park anywhere convenient, and after that there’s a mad dash to find parking close to campus because apparently everyone needs their car. People say there’s a sliver of time where one can get a good spot before they’re all gone, but that’s just a myth.
Buying a parking pass helps with parking before 5 p.m., but for all lots except the Rivers Street Deck, it’s $276 per semester for a pass. The selection is first-come, first-serve, and only upperclassmen are guaranteed a decent spot. It’s $144 for an evening pass that works from 1:30 p.m. onwards, but you pay half the price for a fourth of the value.
Finding parking after 6 p.m. is a fool’s errand, especially on the weekends. Personally, I budget 30 extra minutes into my trips to campus that accounts not only for travel time, but also the time spent finding a space and, failing that, the time spent walking from my out-of-the-way parking place to where I need to go.
Parking in Boone sucks, and I will be glad when I graduate that I will never have to deal with it again.