With the growing student body, Wichita State’s parking lots are experiencing more congestion than ever.

This has caused a sizeable amount of uproar from students who depend on campus parking.

A large amount of student complaints deal with difficulty finding a spot near the buildings where they have class. Sophomore Mackenzie Kane said she feels frustrated when she commutes to campus each week.

“It’s a pain to spend 15 minutes or more to try to find an open parking spot,” Kane said.

Lou Heldman, vice president of Strategic Communications, said the changes made this semester appropriately accommodate students when it comes to parking on campus.

“Based on feedback from students and staff, we have already adjusted the shuttle system, adding another bus to the system during peak ridership hours,” Heldman said. “This year we made the green and green/yellow lots open parking as of 5 p.m. each weekday instead of 6 p.m., as it was last year.”

In 2014, the university began charging $120 a year to park on campus. Previously, students did not have to pay for parking.

This year, the price for permits has increased to $150. This has caused students such as sophomore Chase Sacket to express irritation toward the situation.

“I don’t think parking is an issue for me,” Sacket said. “It’s pretty easy to find a spot. I do, however, disagree with making students pay $150 for a pass. I already spend thousands a semester and that just adds to the frustration.”

Many students have resorted to parking at one of the off-site lots located at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex at 29th and Oliver and at 21st and Oliver.

 As a result, the shuttle buses are being used by a greater number of students this semester, which has caused more congestion.

“The [buses] are so much more crowded,” Kane said. “In the afternoons I’ve had to wait for more than one bus because the first one that came by was already full.”

There has been talk about the upcoming plans to build at least one parking garage on campus, Heldman said. Though, nothing is set in stone yet.

“Based on the campus master plan, we expect WSU will build one or more parking garages,” Heldman said. “They’re quite expensive compared to surface parking — roughly 10 times the cost per space — so we don’t expect to start one this year.”

Heldman’s advice for students is to plan ahead, especially if students have classes during peak times, from 9 a.m. to noon.

“You may want [to] consider building study time into the commute, arriving early and dropping by the library or RSC until your first class begins,” Heldman said.

In addition, Heldman said the university wants to hear from students if they have concerns about parking.

“We are responsive when there are concerns that have solutions,” he said. “Use the feedback form on the Shocker parking website to let us know about shuttle and parking issues.”