One of the more common complaints you’ll hear around campus is how horrendous parking is. Despite mega-lots like lot M, there are still significant issues with parking, and congestion coming into campus can be frustrating at best and dangerous at worst.
Many of the students driving to campus live within roughly a five mile radius of campus. Why don’t these students rather ride the bus, ride a bike, walk, or any combination of the three? Or carpool? If there were even just two people per car, we would see half the cars on campus as we currently, and would see incredibly easier access to parking and less congestion. I surely can’t be the only one dumbfounded when I see people who live in Vestal Plaza, less than a mile away, drive to campus for the day. This kind of behavior creates unnecessary headaches and dangerous conditions for others on campus.
While the University has claimed to attempt to alleviate this issue, there has clearly been no real progress with this issue. Considering how unwilling students are to not drive, the University needs to take more extensive measures, such as limiting the number of parking passes sold or geographically limiting who can purchase parking passes. Left unaddressed, the issue with campus congestion will only get worse in the years to come.
Harold Jones is a junior majoring in geology.