Parking will always be an issue on any college campus. Either there is not enough, the spaces are too small or the prices are too high.
Lately more cars have been parked on side streets around campus, making it difficult for people driving to see down certain streets and at intersections. This is hazardous for all drivers.
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The cause of this problem is two-fold. Parking prices are too high for the average student to pay and parking is scattered around campus.
Officials raised parking prices a couple years ago, causing more drivers to find ways to avoid paying. Paying $150 on top of tuition, housing and books is a lot to ask of students. Also requiring faculty and staff to pay to park at their jobs is ridiculous.
The lack of convenient parking on campus is another concern for drivers. For the hefty price of $200, you can purchase a Star Access pass and park anywhere on campus. If you choose a less expensive permit, then your parking is limited. Even the cheaper permits cost $100-$150, so some students do not purchase one at all.
The expense causes drivers to look for other areas to park their cars, including side streets.
If there are visitors on campus who don’t want a $100-$150 citation, they are confined to small areas that rarely have an empty space next to Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center or next to the dumpsters in the back of Cokesbury Court Apartments, where several trespassers were reported this year.
Two things need to happen to help solve these problems–prices for parking must be lowered and officials need to make plans to create more parking on campus.
The campus is small and options are limited, but, with the amount students pay in fees and citations, there should be enough to build another parking lot.
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