Student incentives needed for campus parking problem


We students are suffering from an extreme lack of parking spaces.

Commendably, the university administration is constructing additional parking facilities to address this problem. This solution is good, despite exacerbating the problem by reducing available parking during the months of construction.

In the meantime, our parking woes could be eased by creating additional parking spaces for scooters and motorcycles and promoting their use.

Three to four (or even more) two-wheeled vehicles can be parked in the space of a single car. Furthermore, space which cannot by used by automobiles can often serve nicely for scooters and the like.

With a little creativity and an eye to under-utilized sections of the existing parking lots (as well as other convenient locations around campus) abundant parking could be found and created swiftly and cheaply. Likewise, little corners could be made available, such as along the sides of white stripe areas in Lot 8 and elsewhere, marked to ensure continued access by school maintenance vehicles.

When I suggested the above to Parking Services staff, the ideas fell on deaf ears. In fact, the lady in charge discouraged me from pursuing these solutions, indicating her superiors were difficult to reach and unlikely to respond favorably in any case. She seemed to confirm the way of the bureaucrat: “Where there is no will, there is no way.”

I bought a scooter for the express purpose of lessening the load on campus parking and to enhance my speed of access to classes. The fact that I get 76 miles per gallon is a personal and environmental benefit.

A forward-looking administration would support the general good by encouraging small-footprint vehicles and rewarding their use by providing plentiful and favorably located parking.

- Bruce Bishop, graduate art student

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