Keene State College commuter students are fed up with the lack of free parking in the city of Keene. With colder weather heading our way, students are concerned with the lack of parking near campus as more students will be driving to campus.
KSC senior Angela Scionti lives less than a mile from campus and said she struggles to find free parking close to campus.
“I just don’t have the money to dump on a meter,” Scionti said.
A quarter will allow someone to park for 30 minutes at a meter, a nickel allows for six and a dime allows 12 minutes. Every meter in Keene has either a two or ten-hour maximum, according to the Keene website.
Scionti said she understands the cost of parking meters but can’t always afford it.
“I never have spare change,” Scionti said. She said she parks at a meter at least three times a week and pays the maximum amount of three dollars every time.
Photo Illustration / Tim Smith / Photo Editor
“The money adds up. Sometimes I’ll need a coffee before class and I still have to pay for laundry too,” Scionti said.
Scionti said she isn’t unfamiliar with parking tickets in Keene. “Since I’ve been in Keene I’ve accumulated at least fifty dollars worth of tickets,” Scionti said. She said she once got towed from KSC’s commuter lot because she could not find a lot to park in overnight.
Scionti said she is concerned about the upcoming winter. “More people are going to be driving because it’s cold and the snow banks cover most of the parking spaces,” she said.
KSC junior Gabby Brzozowski said she can relate to the struggle of finding free parking in Keene.
“Parking is always a hassle, especially when I have to make a quick trip or run to the bank,” Brzozowski said.
Brzozowski said she believes pulling out of parking spots on Main Street is “extremely dangerous.”
“It’s so hard to see people coming because of the parked cars that block your view,” Brzozowski said.
Brzozowski said if she could change one thing about public parking in Keene, she would want the first ten minutes of parking to be free. She said having a period of free time would decrease the worry of getting a ticket.
The Keene website lists the 1,350 public parking spots in Keene. It lists specific streets that provide two-hour metered parking, ten-hour meter parking and reserved spots.
According to the website, short term parking can range from six minutes to two hours and long term parking allows three to ten hours of parking, but don’t forget your change! All parking in Keene costs a fee between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5p.m. Free parking is available all day Sunday and weekdays after 5p.m. Employees of the parking service office are monitoring the meters Monday through Saturday from 8a.m. to 5p.m. according to Parking Operations Manager Ginger Hill.
The website states that overnight parking is available “on a rotating basis.” It warns Keene drivers to check whether the lot they want to park in overnight is active or not. Parking is prohibited on streets from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. from November 1 through April 30 and 2 a.m. to 6.p.m. May 1 through October 31.
Hill said the parking services office is not planning to create additional free parking spaces in Keene.
“We did recently open up some free parking on Gilbo Avenue,” Hill said. She said the meters were removed and the spaces are now free to park in.
MacKenzie can be contacted at mclarke@kscequinox.com