And while some student body president candidates say the position offers limited influence over the situation, others suggest alternatives such as underground parking and fare-free busing that could begin to alleviate the problem next year.
"Everyone knows that parking is tight on campus," said Derek Poarch, director of the Department of Public Safety. "Not all who want to park on campus can park, and this will continue to be the case next year."
The Master Plan, a blueprint for campus development for the next 50 years, allows for an increase in enrollment of about 10,000 new undergraduate students. If current parking conditions remain the same, then the situation could worsen.
As the Feb. 13 student body elections approach, students are raising their parking concerns to the student body president candidates, who, they hope, will improve the situation.
The student body president can appoint a member to the Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee and is a voting member of the Board of Trustees, which must approve all UNC policy changes.
And although most concede that the student body president has limited influence on the issue, most candidates have ideas about how to address parking-related concerns.
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