The parking situation has made things really difficult for me, as previously I could leave the house at 8.40 and get here for about 9.50 for my 10am class. I now have to leave the house at 7.15 because there is more traffic on the road if I leave out during the rush hours and this extends my journey time. If I leave out any earlier than 7.15 I cannot guarantee I can get here by 8.30 to secure a parking space. Something definitely needs to be done about this situation.
BA social work student
P
Paige Rogan
8 years ago
I think the car parking situation is ridiculous! I have to arrive at uni an hour early to be able to drive around for half an hour to fight for a space!! It is impacting my learning and causing me and my peers a vast amount of unwanted stress!
H
Hannah Wright
8 years ago
I now have to leave my house at 8am in order to get to university for 9am just to get a parking space when my teaching doesn't start until 10am. If I hit traffic then I end up driving around looking for spaces which makes me late, and sometimes I can't even get a space at all! The frustrating thing is the sports car park is empty but when I called the car park team they said the sports centre will not allow anybody to park there unless they pay the full price which is £25 a day!
J
Jennifer Atkins
8 years ago
It is unacceptable to come in before 9am and struggle to park. Even when I drop my stepdaughter in (paid!) before-school care in order to arrive earlier, I still routinely struggle. I was also amused the other day to discover disabled parking spaces outside the library that are completely inaccessible. This needs to be sorted out, soon!
C
Claire Williamson
8 years ago
The parking situation has meant I have had to put my son in before school club costing £3 daily just to ensure I have somewhere to park. I then have to sit in uni for an hour before lectures start. After having an interview this week, I arrived at 11:00am and drove around for half an hour. I was then unable to actually attend my lecture, missing 2 and a half hours of study, because there was nowhere to park. This was a waste of petrol and time and also means I have missed information valuable to my final year that I am unable to get back!
J
Julie Jones
8 years ago
I am now having to leave my house at 7am to get to the University to ensure I can get a parking space. This is most frustrating given that some days I would like to be able to work from home early morning and then come onto campus later in the day for example when I am not teaching. The idea of having a green space is all very well and good, but I do think it is more important (given that Birmingham is already the greenest city in Europe) that staff and students can actually park their cars. I am sure the added pollution to the environment caused by people driving round for an hour trying to find a space offsets the benefits to the environment of having a green space. The car parking situation is only going to get worse with plans to knock a further 100 spaces off the multi-storey car park next summer.
J
Jack Rogers
8 years ago
Appalling lack of provisions for parking, even for us who car-share. Open days currently taking place so most car parks full by 8am!
J
Julie Kendall
8 years ago
Work is stressful enough without having the added stress of finding a parking space. If UoB care about staff wellbeing then actions will be taken to resovlve the parking issue. I feel for the residents around the university, as their roads are full of staff who are unable to park elsewhere.
A
Anonymous
8 years ago
Had to abandon car in ubsuitable place in order to deliver lecture. Ridiculous to have to run the risk of clamping in order to perform teaching duties. Also had industrial visitors come half way through important meeting as they took ages to park. Next time threatening to turn back and go home. This is damaging to the reputation of the University
A
Anonymous
8 years ago
Once I have dropped my children at childcare it is often impossible to find a place to park on campus. This is very stressful when I have a early teaching session. The dilemma is often whether to park illegally just so I can make that session.
The lack of parking also has significant knock-on reputational damage on student recruitment days. Trying to pacifying angry and frustrated visitors who have spent their first experience of campus desperately trying to find a place to park, is often impossible. As a result, our efforts to recruitment them is often wasted.
M
Mlacolm Dick
8 years ago
I had a doctor's appointment recently and could only come in after 10.00. I spent more than 30 minutes stopping and starting all over the camus to find a place - not benefitting the environment. I could only find a place at Pritchatts in the area apparently reserved for Science Park staff (where there were many places). I came back at night and had a parking fine. I am £60 out of pocket. I note that very senior staff have reserved spaces which are frequently empty. A PhD student of mine had booked a day's research at the CRL. She lives some distance away. She had to abandon her day as she could only find an hour's parking in a nearby street. Turn green spaces into temporary parking spaces.
K
karen bevan
8 years ago
i have mobility issues, almost turned around ND WENT HOME ON tUESDAY AS A) NO LOCAL PARKING AND bPHYSICALLY COULD NOT GET INTO MHT
S
Surinder Guru
8 years ago
It has taken me, and some of the students, up to an hour to find parking space and this has resulted in late attendance or absence in lectures. The situation has been deteriorating over the last year, if not more.
A
Anonymous
8 years ago
Need to think of a range of solutions, problem only going to get worse. Better use of available space - Chancellors Court, Conference centre spaces? Secure park & ride with regular free dedicated buses- Longbridge site, Selly Oak, lease car parking from cricket ground? Need to ensure that buses operate at different times to accommodate various working patterns/late nights. Any planned multi storey car parks need to be accessible - current multi storey is not, location of pay machines, no lifts. Give an indication of how many spaces are left to avoid driving around. Lack of parking creates additional stress and frustration before the working day starts.
A
Anonymous
8 years ago
It's not really a problem for me as I am mostly an early comer so always manage to get parking space at my building. However, there has been few occasions where I have arrived late after visiting the doctors and haven't been able to find parking close by. This is a concern as I suffer from back problems and sometimes walking long distance I tend to struggle a little.
A
Anonymous
8 years ago
I struggle to find parking space on majority of days and waste time driving around campus (up to 30 minutes) in the hope of finding a space to park.
P
Paul Montgomery
8 years ago
I am not sure that it is just the recent changes that have contributed to the issue, but the wider expansion of the Univ and the limitations to public transport. Whatever the cause, parking is urgently needed.
A
Anonymous
8 years ago
although it is important to try and reduce the number of people commuting by car for environmental reasons, the reality of people’s lives and the poor public transport, especially for those not living near a train station or outside Birmingham limits, means there is no viable alternative. This coupled with care duties and unfixed working hours for academics makes it impossible for car sharing. The number of contractors on campus either parking in uni spaces or removing more by their scaffolding etc makes it even worse.
N
Nigel Harris
8 years ago
Particularly bad for those with mobility issues. I struggle especially with the quite scandalous absence of a lift in the multi-storey.
The parking situation has made things really difficult for me, as previously I could leave the house at 8.40 and get here for about 9.50 for my 10am class. I now have to leave the house at 7.15 because there is more traffic on the road if I leave out during the rush hours and this extends my journey time. If I leave out any earlier than 7.15 I cannot guarantee I can get here by 8.30 to secure a parking space. Something definitely needs to be done about this situation. BA social work student
I think the car parking situation is ridiculous! I have to arrive at uni an hour early to be able to drive around for half an hour to fight for a space!! It is impacting my learning and causing me and my peers a vast amount of unwanted stress!
I now have to leave my house at 8am in order to get to university for 9am just to get a parking space when my teaching doesn't start until 10am. If I hit traffic then I end up driving around looking for spaces which makes me late, and sometimes I can't even get a space at all! The frustrating thing is the sports car park is empty but when I called the car park team they said the sports centre will not allow anybody to park there unless they pay the full price which is £25 a day!
It is unacceptable to come in before 9am and struggle to park. Even when I drop my stepdaughter in (paid!) before-school care in order to arrive earlier, I still routinely struggle. I was also amused the other day to discover disabled parking spaces outside the library that are completely inaccessible. This needs to be sorted out, soon!
The parking situation has meant I have had to put my son in before school club costing £3 daily just to ensure I have somewhere to park. I then have to sit in uni for an hour before lectures start. After having an interview this week, I arrived at 11:00am and drove around for half an hour. I was then unable to actually attend my lecture, missing 2 and a half hours of study, because there was nowhere to park. This was a waste of petrol and time and also means I have missed information valuable to my final year that I am unable to get back!
I am now having to leave my house at 7am to get to the University to ensure I can get a parking space. This is most frustrating given that some days I would like to be able to work from home early morning and then come onto campus later in the day for example when I am not teaching. The idea of having a green space is all very well and good, but I do think it is more important (given that Birmingham is already the greenest city in Europe) that staff and students can actually park their cars. I am sure the added pollution to the environment caused by people driving round for an hour trying to find a space offsets the benefits to the environment of having a green space. The car parking situation is only going to get worse with plans to knock a further 100 spaces off the multi-storey car park next summer.
Appalling lack of provisions for parking, even for us who car-share. Open days currently taking place so most car parks full by 8am!
Work is stressful enough without having the added stress of finding a parking space. If UoB care about staff wellbeing then actions will be taken to resovlve the parking issue. I feel for the residents around the university, as their roads are full of staff who are unable to park elsewhere.
Had to abandon car in ubsuitable place in order to deliver lecture. Ridiculous to have to run the risk of clamping in order to perform teaching duties. Also had industrial visitors come half way through important meeting as they took ages to park. Next time threatening to turn back and go home. This is damaging to the reputation of the University
Once I have dropped my children at childcare it is often impossible to find a place to park on campus. This is very stressful when I have a early teaching session. The dilemma is often whether to park illegally just so I can make that session. The lack of parking also has significant knock-on reputational damage on student recruitment days. Trying to pacifying angry and frustrated visitors who have spent their first experience of campus desperately trying to find a place to park, is often impossible. As a result, our efforts to recruitment them is often wasted.
I had a doctor's appointment recently and could only come in after 10.00. I spent more than 30 minutes stopping and starting all over the camus to find a place - not benefitting the environment. I could only find a place at Pritchatts in the area apparently reserved for Science Park staff (where there were many places). I came back at night and had a parking fine. I am £60 out of pocket. I note that very senior staff have reserved spaces which are frequently empty. A PhD student of mine had booked a day's research at the CRL. She lives some distance away. She had to abandon her day as she could only find an hour's parking in a nearby street. Turn green spaces into temporary parking spaces.
i have mobility issues, almost turned around ND WENT HOME ON tUESDAY AS A) NO LOCAL PARKING AND bPHYSICALLY COULD NOT GET INTO MHT
It has taken me, and some of the students, up to an hour to find parking space and this has resulted in late attendance or absence in lectures. The situation has been deteriorating over the last year, if not more.
Need to think of a range of solutions, problem only going to get worse. Better use of available space - Chancellors Court, Conference centre spaces? Secure park & ride with regular free dedicated buses- Longbridge site, Selly Oak, lease car parking from cricket ground? Need to ensure that buses operate at different times to accommodate various working patterns/late nights. Any planned multi storey car parks need to be accessible - current multi storey is not, location of pay machines, no lifts. Give an indication of how many spaces are left to avoid driving around. Lack of parking creates additional stress and frustration before the working day starts.
It's not really a problem for me as I am mostly an early comer so always manage to get parking space at my building. However, there has been few occasions where I have arrived late after visiting the doctors and haven't been able to find parking close by. This is a concern as I suffer from back problems and sometimes walking long distance I tend to struggle a little.
I struggle to find parking space on majority of days and waste time driving around campus (up to 30 minutes) in the hope of finding a space to park.
I am not sure that it is just the recent changes that have contributed to the issue, but the wider expansion of the Univ and the limitations to public transport. Whatever the cause, parking is urgently needed.
although it is important to try and reduce the number of people commuting by car for environmental reasons, the reality of people’s lives and the poor public transport, especially for those not living near a train station or outside Birmingham limits, means there is no viable alternative. This coupled with care duties and unfixed working hours for academics makes it impossible for car sharing. The number of contractors on campus either parking in uni spaces or removing more by their scaffolding etc makes it even worse.
Particularly bad for those with mobility issues. I struggle especially with the quite scandalous absence of a lift in the multi-storey.
Limited car park space all over the university.