Foundation Lot

Many CSULB students may not be aware that there are parking options in the Foundation Building parking lot on campus, near Outpost. This parking option may be most beneficial to journalism students especially, due to the fact that it is located right next to the SPA building on the premises. 


The Lot is not necessarily advertised to students as being open to the public because it is primarily created to serve the people who conduct business in the Foundation Building, or who are employed there.


"If space allows, the Lot is open to students at a $5.00 daily charge," said the lady that works in the parking booth (remains anonymous). "But if there is a function or something going on in the Foundation Building, then we cannot allow the spots to be taken by the public so availability varies."

For students who are interested in obtaining a pass for this parking Lot, they have the option to enter a "raffle" conducted each year. At the beginning of next semester, this will take place again. 


"The raffle is basically a way to grant a certain amount of people the option to park in this Lot if they wish," said the parking attendant. "Depending on how many people inquire about the Lot is what we base the amount of passes we give out on. Like, this semester not that many students applied, so everyone that was interested got a pass for the price of $330."


Students who have the Foundation Lot pass are allowed to park in the Lot at any time, and are not excluded during Foundation Building business functions.

Public Transportation

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 Aside from owning personal vehicles, bicycles, motorcycles, etc., people find other ways to get from point A to point B in Long Beach.

Depending on where you are going, there are several different options: Greyhounds, Blue Line metros, taxis, etc.

All facilities have contact phone numbers and web pages providing information. For example, people who decide to use public transit as an option should visit the Long Beach Transit web page to get overall useful information such as pass pricing, bus routes, security details, special services, etc. 

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CSULB students, such as Nayeli Carrillo, also have an option to take the The Orange County Transportation Authority System directly to school. Carrillo, a junior at CSULB, does not own a car but uses this public facility to get to campus from her home on the border of Fullerton in Anaheim.


"Public transportation is helpful in helping you learn how to pay attention to streets and depending less on maps", says Carrillo. "I take the OC Transportation Authority System to school. It's smooth but since I live in Anaheim hitting the border of Fullerton it takes about an hour and a half to get to school."

Walkway construction on campus

CSULB's recent construction project on campus entails building a walkway between lot 17 and 18 at the school. The entire construction project began at $1.2 million, funded by the parking and transportation services on campus. Construction projects tend to range and vary in price, so the beginning price may exceed that amount once completed.  

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Mark Rudometkin, director of Parking and Transportation on the CSULB campus, stated that his team’s goal is to have the project done by January 23, 2012, for the start of spring semester. 

Before the renovations began, students walking from lot 20 and lot 16 did not have a designated pathway to use when walking around campus. Due to the fact that students did not have a specifically labeled pathway, it caused possible safety issues for both pedestrians and drivers. 

Construction will include a total reconstruction of lot 18, bright lights along the new walkway that are safer, benches, trees and a parking permit dispenser in lot 18.

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The renovations, however, have been causing some extra traffic congestion and road blocks, causing students and faculty to temporarily reroute some of their driving paths on campus. According to Rudometkin, the people most frustrated were individuals that regularly use the nursing building but they have been patient throughout the process.


Although momentarily frustrating, the patience and wait should be well worth it- resulting in a more convenient and safer establishment. The parking and transportation service's goals are to complete the entire project by deadline to avoid prolonged inconveniences. 


“Lot 18 was in terrible shape, physically.  It had many deep potholes, cracked asphalt everywhere and needed new striping,” said Rudometkin. “With the need to completely overhaul Lot 18 we also looked at the crosswalk on Merriam Way from Lot 16 and how it sent all pedestrians right down the middle of Lot 17.  What we came up with was the shift of the intersection to the south to line up with the sidewalk coming out of Lot 16 in front of the dorms as well as taking out all of the ivy between Lots 17 and 18 and making that a pedestrian and bicycle path to tie the whole length of ground together from Earl Warren Drive to Brotman Hall.” 


The project should result in a more attractive parking lot, walkway, and a safer designated area for pedestrians to walk.

Parking Drama

Rising congestion not only comes with frustration but also with plenty of parking issues. 

Fitting into a parking spot can be a challenge at times but on the CSULB campus, students are finding themselves squeezing into spots as well as attempting to squeeze out. Although students are able to fit their car into a parking spot that is clearly too small, they seem to find comfort in knowing that they at least have a place to leave their car even it if means inconveniencing other students, or even themselves. Regardless of what the reason may be, students are on a school campus and primarily are concerned to making it to class on time!

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An article in the daily 49er covered the issues in an segment called "The forgotten parking issue" and covered this topic. Students are finding frustration in situations where it is not an easy possibility to enter your vehicle. In addition to, the $123 dollars that goes to student parking permit expenses does not collaborate well when people either can't find parking, or do but face the risk of getting bumped by someone else's car door.


It is safe to say that these parking dilemmas go hand in hand with the increase of students driving cars to school this semester and congestion all together. 


In any case, poor parking can affect the person leaving their car crookedly-place but also the person parked in the next spot over because they are out of room and can't open their car door. 

(PLACE) Project

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 'PLACE' stands for Policies for Livable and Active Communities and Environments, a project  funded by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The city and this project commission collaborated with CSULB to get some statistics on where bike and pedestrian improvements are needed.


This year will be the fourth-annual bicyclist and pedestrian count for CSULB. The number of students walking to school or riding their bikes has increased, so improvement would be beneficial for those students who are part of this majority because it will focus on constructing bicycle and safe pedestrian walkway infrastructures.


"Counters" who will be conducting the research for this project will use methods that will attempt to accurately capture the total number of cyclists and pedestrians to get an idea of how many people are on foot or riding bikes. 

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According to Elissa Thomas, transportation program coordinator at CSULB, ""Long Beach has the goal of being the most bike-friendly city in the nation."


Research was conducted last Thursday and Sunday. Thursday during rush hour times for commuters (7a.m.-9a.m. and 4p.m.-6p.m.) and Sunday from noon-2p.m. when riders and walkers are both out and about during leisure time since there is clearly no classes in sessions on a Sunday afternoon. 


Aside from working with CSULB, the city of Los Angeles uses the PLACE project all over the city, wherever there are high volumes of people and such. 

Inconvenient campus residence buildings

It has been reported that the hills and narrow pathways leading to the campus residence buildings make it difficult for wheelchair users to comfortably reach them. 

According to an article from the daily 49er, some students and faculty who use wheelchairs have decided not live on campus due to the limited wheelchair accessibility; the inconvenient struggle is enough to deter them from campus housing arrangements. 

The CSULB campus was established in 1949 and the most recent campus buildings were constructed about 30 years ago. At that time, the construction met the expected law guidelines and city requirements for disabled individuals.  

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According to Carol Roberts-Corb, director of housing and residence life at Cal State Long Beach, his goal is to make sure that matters are legally up to code and that everything is being handled ethically to meet all students needs. However, David Sanfilippo, director of disabled student services, said housing may not be completely aware of the situation for disabled students and faculty and there really is a problem there. It does not matter how many students complain, the point is that there is an issue. 

The Possibility of Carpooling

Some CSLB students have decided that carpooling is a better plan to get to and from school. This fall semester we have noticed that parking spots have become more limited and difficult to find. Traffic on campus has also increased and the lots have become much more crowded.

Students such as Devin Ugland, a CSLB junior, sometimes carpool to school. "Carpooling definitely has its benefits. This semester I began carpooling to and from school with a friend of mine and I saved money for a permit that way," said Ugland. "We switch off paying for gas so both of us save some money." 

CSLB offers a "rideshare" program for students who are interested. The school website has more information in detail about what the program entails and how students can benefit from carpooling to school. This is an option for students who are interested and can be acquired through submission of the carpool application.


By having more people using one vehicle, carpooling reduces each person's gas costs and stress of driving. Students may also that being stuck in 405 traffic with someone else not as annoying.

Life is like Riding a Bike...

This fall semester has been a hectic one when it comes to getting to and from school transportation-wise; ironically, CSULB is considered a "commuter school". Traffic congestion has increased and parking lots have become extremely full, making parking stressful and time consuming. In order to get to classes on time, students must incorporate extra time in their commute to school for parking and then walking to class.


However, some students have taken a different path in coming to CSULB by riding bicycles, skate boards, walking to school, etc. Bikes have become a popular choice amongst students. Clearly, this option probably is not available to everyone because some students reside in areas too far from campus to ride a bicycle but for those who do may find it beneficial.

"I like taking my bike because of where I live. I don't have to worry about leaving early to find a spot." Said Greg Lloyd, a senior communications major. "I can lock it up pretty much anywhere and I save on not needing to get a parking pass." 


According to Greg, bicycles at CSULB do not require a parking permit, however students should lock their bikes up in order to keep them safe. Taking a bicycle to school, like walking, may be an option students can look into if they do not have a car accessible or they rather not bother with the busy congestion. The CSULB web site offers more information about bicyclists here.

Rising Congestion

Most students who have attended Cal. State Long Beach in the past can all agree that traffic has never been so agitating. An article on Sept. 20 in the school's newspaper, the daily 49er, discussed the crowd in the parking lots on campus. According to the column, CSULB parking has been "deemed busiest since 2008."

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It is not hard to believe that parking permit sales have been higher than ever this semester at the school. "I have trouble going to and from school." Said Eileene Velasquez, a CSULB senior. "It takes me forever to get through the line of cars and then even longer to find a parking spot." Many more students, like Eileene, are feeling the results of increased traffic on and around campus. 

Getting to campus at any of the different entrances results in the same thing: waiting in line. "[Traffic] is way worse this year. It takes me a good 20 minutes to find parking this semester." Said Sharrise Boop, a CSULB student. "I notices lines of cars waiting outside of Brotman Hall just waiting for students to leave just to snag their spot."   For whatever reason, the amount of cars filtering through campus has escalated, and now students must plan on including parking time into their goal to make it to class on time.

In finding a solution to this new stressor, students could possibly carpool, walk to school, or invest in a bicycle. According to the 49er newspaper article, for students who arrive in the mid-afternoon, parking and transportation services advises trying Parking Structure 1, as well as parking lots 13, 14 and 16; although many students prefer parking in areas near the buildings that hold their classes.