COLLEGE CAMPUSES HAVE MORE PEOPLE THAN PARKING.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

Booming enrollment and construction at local colleges have combined to create parking nightmares, with students forced to park blocks from campus or arrive an hour before the start of classes to secure a spot.

Construction of a parking garage at California State University, Northridge, has temporarily eliminated about 500 spots.

At Pierce College in Woodland Hills, construction on the largest student parking lot has eliminated so many spaces that campus officials are using a field for overflow parking and have asked sheriff's deputies to direct traffic.

``I drove around for an hour and I ended up parking next to a fence,'' complained employee Nicky Perry, 23, of Northridge, who had to fight for her spot at Pierce College.

Pierce student Cowden Fortenbaugh arrived nearly an hour before his 11:10 a.m. class so he could be assured of a parking space.

``There's supposed to be 19,000 enrollment,'' the 27-year-old Canoga Park man said. ``There's not 19,000 parking spaces.''

College officials attribute the parking woes to the soaring enrollment and construction projects, but see a positive aspect to the issue.

``It's a good problem that we have so many people who want to come here that we have to orchestrate parking,'' said Darroch ``Rocky'' Young, president of Pierce College, where enrollment has jumped 4 percent to more than 19,000 students this fall. ``But we have a parking space for everybody.''

Unfortunately, some of those spaces might be along Pierce's new ranch- style perimeter fence, or might require a 10-minute walk - something students don't appreciate.

But Kevork Shahinian, 20, of West Hills was more philosophical about his long walk to class: ``As long as it's not raining, I don't care.''

Parking is also at a premium at CSUN, where construction of a 1,000-space parking garage - scheduled to be complete by next summer - has temporarily eliminated 500 spaces on the west side of campus.

Students with disabilities also lost spaces on campus because the spots were not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and CSUN needed to tear up the pavement to repair a water main, said Carmen Ramos Chandler, director of news and information for the campus.

The campus has more than 10,000 parking spaces.

In the meantime, the university is handing out maps to students in front of full parking lots, and campus police officers are directing traffic, she said. Faculty and staffers, as well as students, have to walk two to three blocks from their cars, Chandler said, herself included.

``If this was New York City, I'd be celebrating; if this was San Francisco, I'd be celebrating,'' Chandler said. ``I think we're kind of spoiled here in Southern California.''

At Mission College, the student parking lot and two smaller staff lots were completely full Thursday, which is common at the beginning of the semester, said Ed Pardo, public affairs director.

Many students park on the streets to avoid paying for hourly parking on campus or purchasing a parking permit, Pardo noted.

For that reason, and to accommodate a growing enrollment that shows no signs of slowing, the college plans to build a parking garage with revenue from Proposition A, the six-year, $1.2 billion bond measure city voters approved last year to upgrade the nine-campus Los Angeles Community College District.

The campus now has 680 spots; the parking garage would nearly triple that number - to 2,000.

``We want to get some of these students' (cars) off the street if we can because there's a lot of traffic in the neighborhood, and we want to be good neighbors,'' Pardo said.

Los Angeles Valley College has nearly 3,000 parking spaces, said Cindy Sardo, director of public relations. The college has only experienced the typical start-of-school parking crunch and has signs directing students to lots with open spaces.

``Lots A and H are the smallest, and they fill up the quickest, because they're closest to the main buildings,'' she said. ``Lots D and G have ample space, but they're a little farther away and students would have to walk.''

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Los Angeles County sheriff's security officer Emmanuel Constante directs morning traffic at Pierce College.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer