Student drivers at the Madison College Truax Campus experience a stressful rat-race for parking during peak hours.

Many resort to parking alongside the curbs and grass throughout the main parking lots.

“When people park along curbs and grassy areas, they absorb about eight feet of that precious driving lane, and that definitely increases the chances for crashes between, not only motor vehicles, but pedestrians as well,” says James McFarlane, Captain of Madison College Public Safety Services.

According to McFarlane, 2,641 parking citations were issued in the 2015-2016 school year. If each of these were $20 citations, that is a total of $52,820.

These citations are an unneeded expense, especially for cash-strapped students.

While many drivers spend time searching for an elusive open parking stall in the main lots, the auxiliary parking lots are often overlooked.

The three auxiliary lots each offer approximately 300 additional parking spaces.

“One of the most common excuses for illegal parking on campus is, ‘I was running late and needed to park quickly and get to class,’” said McFarlane.

The question students should to ask now is: how many of these parking citations are avoidable if they make use of all of the available space?