Though the university is ranked as No. 3 in student enrollment by the University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State’s commuter students are increasingly frustrated with traffic and parking conditions on their daily commutes.
With that high of a number, only 14% of students live on campus, according to US News. 86% of students live off campus, making KSU a commuter school. Located northwest of metro Atlanta, KSU is an ideal location. One can get to Atlanta within 34 minutes without traffic.
Most students take I-75, I-285 or I-85 to get to KSU, which causes a multitude of problems. These highways are some of the busiest in Georgia, according to the Atlanta Advocate.
“My commute is approximately 45 minutes to one hour long, and I come to campus four days a week,” said student Micaela Bazalar Quispe. “I’ve gotten used to leaving home earlier but sometimes I still get stuck in traffic. Thankfully, I only have one class, two days a week, that starts at a time where there usually is traffic and my professor is very understanding, so I haven’t had any issues with it so far in terms of my academic performance.”
Atlanta does have public transportation, but it is listed as one of the top five worst cities in the nation to commute by car and public transit, according to GeoTab. For students who rely on public transportation for their school commute, the wait is often a grievance they can’t avoid in their day.
“What I dislike about being a commuter is the sheer length of the commute,” said student Jaala Stokes. “I take public transit to get here, which requires a minimum of an hour and a half between buses and trains. It’s very draining, and by the end of a typical day, I’ve spent about 4 hours total commuting alone. Having to carry heavy things like a portfolio and school supplies makes this doubly tasking.”
With a growing student population, KSU has more students every year. Parking on campus is difficult for commuter students because of the lack of parking garages and parking lots. Some students must park as far as the lot across the street from Fifth Third Bank Stadium to take a shuttle bus to campus.
Many students have voiced their concerns about the parking KSU offers to students. Last semester, student John Brogan even made a petition to draw the attention of the KSU administration to students’ frustrations.
“I always have a lot of complications with finding parking spaces on campus,” Quispe said. “I’ve spent up to an hour trying to find somewhere to park on campus even though I have purchased a parking permit and should be able to have a spot guaranteed in that lot, so that’s definitely a huge inconvenience.”
