Commuters get the short end of the parking stick

Any commuter students who did not see the e-mail from campus officials on Saturday evening probably tried to park in lot five behind the cafeteria on Monday morning only to find out the lot was closed.

For lot five parkers, Monday morning’s sight was not something new, although it probably was not any less aggravating than any other time parking spaces are barricaded.

It is rare that any faculty or residential lots are blocked off, yet it is quite common for commuter students, who pay $70 to park on campus and make up more than 65 percent of the student population.

It is simply not fair, and it is not right.

There are not enough parking spaces for commuters as it is, and every time lots and spaces are blocked off, it just results in more tardy students, more skipped classes, more walking in the rain or snow or blistering heat and, most importantly for UNC Asheville, more parking tickets and boots on cars, which of course means more money in addition to a $70 parking pass.

For students, it just means more aggravation.

Luckily, UNCA has a relatively small campus, and students can reach most buildings within five to 15 minutes of walking, depending on the lot a student parks in and the building in which they are attending class.

Not many students will complain about the walk to class, especially compared to larger universities like UNC Chapel Hill or North Carolina State University, which have bus systems transporting students to class due to the size of their campuses.

Of course, the walk will not always be a long walk in harsh weather, but the issue is whether or not that walk is taking place five, 10 or even 15 minutes after class has already started.

Just because a student finds a space does not mean they found the space quickly, and that is what is wrong with campus parking.

Commuter students should not have to come to campus 20 minutes before their class just so they can spend 10 minutes driving around looking for a space and 10 minutes walking to class.

Obviously, not every commuter student drives their car, but for those who do not walk or ride their bike, parking is certainly an issue.

The university has at least made it look like they are trying to make things easier for commuters by running the shuttle, but that does not work with everyone’s schedule, nor does it go to all of the apartment complexes or neighborhoods where students live.

Students living in Weaverville or around Asheville have no choice but to drive and hope there is a spot open near where they have their class.

Three solutions immediately come to mind when analyzing this problem.

Solution one is to stop randomly blocking off commuter parking spaces for no reason.

Solution two is to make these large groups of people who visit campus during school hours park in a lot other than commuter parking.

There are other lots around campus where non-residential students cannot park, and if these people are coming for the faculty’s benefit, perhaps the faculty spots are the ones that need to be given up, not the parking spaces of the people paying for an education.

Solution three is the most obvious and probably the most unpopular among university officials. Either put in more parking spaces or allow commuters to park in the partly empty faculty lots that they currently get ticketed for parking in.

These solutions may not be perfect, but they are something, and something is better than nothing, and nothing is what current parking policies are accomplishing for commuter students.

http://www.thebluebanner.net/commuters-get-the-short-end-of-the-parking-stick-1.1390678