Update to JMU Parking App provides predictions for spaces available

By: Brooke Blaney, JMU Breeze

At the push of a button, users of the JMU Parking App 2.0 can check the exact number of student, metered or faculty spaces available in each campus parking deck. This update was released on August 24 to ease the parking process for students and faculty. 

“The numbers were all there and I heard from the general public how hard it was to park at JMU because no one knew how many spaces there were,” Dustin Hux, a senior computer science major and creator of the app, said.

Many commuter and residential students have been made aware of this app through Facebook and by word of mouth; Hux estimates it has around 2,000 downloads so far. 

Many students seem to agree that the app is a useful idea. 

“I know people who live off campus that take a while to park so checking that before they come on campus would be a good idea,” Jenna Rhone, a sophomore communication sciences and disorders major who lives on campus, said. “I will definitely use it in the future because next year and the year after I’m going to commute.” 

Hux created the app with Visual Studio, a Microsoft program for making apps, and released the first version last fall semester, an opportunity he received by working for Microsoft during the school year. The first version included parking information for the Champions parking deck, Warsaw parking deck including student and faculty spaces and Grace Street parking deck including faculty and metered spaces. Hux updated the app this summer to include the Mason Street parking deck and new features. 

The 2.0 version of the parking app features a real-time parking display, graphs displaying how full each parking deck is throughout the day and a chat room where users can ask questions and give suggestions. 

Current users of the app seem to agree that it could really change the way they commute.

“The app would be helpful so you’re not late for classes or waiting around,” said Katie Greenough, a senior biology major who commutes from Devon Lane. 

Hux is proud of his work. 

“I wake up every morning and check the graphs to see when the decks will fill up so I know when to wake up or when I can go back to sleep,” Hux said. “It’ll help kids plan their day.”

Greenough plans to use the app to do just that, especially on her way to work as an operations assistant for Event Services at Madison Union. 

“I mainly take the bus when I come for class and never find a spot,” Greenough said. “If I knew if there were spots I would use it.”

As successful as Hux’s efforts have been so far, he wants a team to help him with the app and continue working on it when he graduates next semester. 

“I have an application set up and I’m looking for two or three kids to join the team,” Hux said. “I’d love for when I leave to have someone to take it over and continue my legacy.”

More stories like this can be found on the JMU Breeze website.