Kaitlyn Hughes | editor-in-chief

In the first month of his Duquesne presidency, David Dausey sent out a school-wide email indicating the fall 2026 semester would come with parking policy changes.

Commuter permit holders would no longer be able to park in the Forbes and Locust Garages from 2 to 5 a.m., the number of commuter permits sold would be capped and residential students would be required to park in less frequented areas of the garage, according to the email sent in July.

Six days later Dausey walked this statement back.

“I heard from a number of students and they said ‘Listen Mr. President, I chose an apartment that didn’t have parking because the policy was that I could park in the garage. It would be detrimental for me to have this policy changed at this time because I’ve already signed a lease,’” he told The Duke. “I understood that. I think that’s a fair critique.”

Aish Siwakoti, who commutes from Canonsburg, said the policy was unfair because commuter students need to park on campus versus resident students who may not actually need a car. So, she was happy when the policy was reversed.

“At the end of the day, it worked out for the students,” the senior psychology major said.

Leah Bingham, a junior forensics science major who commutes from South Fayette, was glad the new president took into consideration student opinion.

“I feel like it’s good that he listened instead of forcing it even though no one likes it,” she said.

The no-overnight parking policy would have been a reinstatement of a pre-pandemic rule, Dausey said.

“That was the historic policy of the university. It was relaxed and the language was changed during the pandemic,” he said.

During a listening tour of student concerns in the spring, Dausey said one of the most common topics was parking. Based on student feedback and parking utilization data, he said he tried to come up with a solution so that a “bulk” of Duquesne’s commuter students could find available parking.

Dausey plans to create a task force made up of students, faculty and staff to provide solutions to parking-related problems.

In past years, The Duke reported that students were met with long wait times while finding a spot, damaged vehicles after they were valet parked or instructions to park on other surface areas of campus.

Last year, the university installed colored lights to the ceilings in the parking garages on campus to mitigate parking woes. A green light indicates spots are available, red lights signal they are occupied and blue lights show a spot is reserved for people with disabilities.

Siwakoti said it took her about 30 minutes to park on Monday morning. She arrived on campus at 9:45 a.m. for her 10 a.m. class, but didn’t find an empty spot in the Chatham Garage until 10:15 a.m.

But Bingham said besides a line outside the Locust Garage she had no problems finding a spot before her 8 a.m. class.

Dausey said there are more long-term parking plans to come.

The university came to an agreement to sell property along Fifth Avenue to Pittsburgh Parking Authority for a new garage that will provide access to Duquesne permit holders, according to a university-wide email from Dausey.

Overnight parking will be available in the garage, which will be located between Logan Street and Stevenson Street.

Construction will begin in 2027, and the garage is expected to open in fall 2028.

“It is a priority for me as president to ensure that we have the parking capacity that we need,” Dausey said. “One of the things I have really focused on is listening to people.”

Kaitlyn Hughes can be reached at hughesk10@duq.edu