A student rides his bicycle in front of former lot 4, now renamed lot 3.

Kelli Williamson, like many university students, looks forward to her daily workouts at the Campus Recreation Center as a break from her hectic schedule.

Her favorite stress reliever, however, has just become a lot more stressful.

To create more parking spaces for University View residents, Transportation Services has converted Lot 4 behind the CRC into Lot 3, which is now a 24-hour permit-only residential and faculty parking zone.

Non-residential students who want to use the gym must park in a lots near the Comcast Center or look for a spot with a meter. For those with limited time and budgets, the new parking situation is frustrating.

“People have told me that they don’t even go to the gym anymore because they can’t find parking,” said Williamson, a graduate student in the Higher Education program. “If you want to find a metered spot, you end up driving around … wasting gas.”

The changes took place at the end of August, and CRC attendance has not suffered, said Associate Director Brent Flynn. But they have already received numerous student complaints about safety issues with walking longer distances to the CRC.

The CRC works hard to keep areas welllit, Flynn said.

University Commuters Association President Jahantab Siddiqui is frustrated because Lot 3, now reserved only for residents and faculty, is rarely full.

Williamson agreed, and expressed anger with the frequency and rates of parking fines.

“There are so many spaces in Lot 3 that are empty, but if you park there, you get a ticket, and they raised the prices of those,” Williamson said. “And if you don’t fill a meter and get back five minutes late, you also get a huge fine.”

Transportation Services Director David Allen said students are now complaining because they don’t realize the alternative is parking in Lot 6 in the Terrapin Trail Garage next to the Comcast Center. Students can park there for free without a permit anytime after 4 p.m.

“Lot 6 is even more secure than Lot 4, because there are many more security cameras,” Allen said. “It’s also closer to the CRC in some respects. It’s a very good alternative.”

Before 4 p.m., parking is available in another section of Lot 4 by Comcast, or at the meters.

Siddiqui plans to release a statement about the commuter’s association displeasure with the new parking changes. He suggested that Transportation Services look into allowing Lot 3 to be open parking after 4 p.m.

Williamson is simply worried about not being able to use the CRC.

“I hate to see so many of us missing out on the opportunity to take advantage of such a great resource on campus.”

Contact reporter Emily Yahr at yahrdbk@gmail.com.