WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Students at the University of North Carolina Wilmington are more than halfway through the fall semester, but for many, finding a place to park remains a daily challenge.
With parking permits costing hundreds of dollars a year, some students say the combination of limited parking availability, long walks to class and rising expenses is taking a toll.
UNCW is now planning to add hundreds of parking spaces to accommodate its growing student population, but not everyone believes more parking will solve the problem.
The Randall Library parking lot, also known as Zone 1, is among the more convenient options for students attending classes in nearby buildings, including DeLoach Hall, Bear Hall and Morton Hall. A parking permit for the lot costs $473 annually.
“My first class is just a few minutes away from this lot, so it’s convenient,” one student said.
However, students who park near Trask Coliseum pay $410 a year and may face a significantly longer walk to their classes.
UNCW senior Domenico Bacha said finding an available parking space can be frustrating, even when he arrives early.
“I try to show up at least 15 minutes early to any class, just so I can do loops in the parking lot because it’s really bad,” Bacha said.
To address parking demand as enrollment increases, UNCW is planning to add between 550 and 575 parking spaces for the 2027-28 academic year.
The proposed additions include:
The university is also planning a separate multilevel parking deck near Morton and Leutze halls that would provide approximately 500 additional spaces.
Combined, the projects could eventually add more than 1,000 parking spaces to campus, although the timeline for the proposed parking deck was not specified.
University officials say the expansions are intended to accommodate UNCW’s continued growth and increasing enrollment.
While additional spaces could make finding parking easier, some students believe the bigger issue is affordability.
“I mean, I think more parking spaces probably will help, but I really don’t think that that’s the issue, to be honest,” Bacha said.
He pointed to the cost of parking permits on top of tuition and other college expenses.
“It’s so weird that we have to pay over $400 to park for a class that I’m already paying over $1,000 to go to,” Bacha said.
For UNCW student Joey Lehman, the cost and difficulty of finding parking have already influenced how she gets to campus.
“Right now I’m waiting for my friend to pick me up because I don’t park on campus, because one, it’s hard to find parking, and two, paying to park, I don’t have the money to do that,” Lehman said. “But yeah, so it’s kind of difficult, and you have to drive around a lot to try to find stuff.”
Despite the concerns, UNCW says parking permit fees would remain unchanged if the additional spaces are added.
For now, students will have to continue navigating the challenges of campus parking as the university works toward its proposed expansion.
