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By Morgan Hall
By Morgan Hall
With the busy beginning of the semester I hear buzz around campus surrounding the ongoing issues of parking; ranging from traffic congestion to the parking distance from classes. Even with the new 1,100 space 14 million dollar structure finding a convenient spot is still a rare yet glorious occasion.
The first few days of school seemed most hectic with classes starting fresh and mass amounts of students piling onto campus, it was obvious parking would be a challenge. But has the addition of the parking structure resolved the issue?
The trick seems to be with getting to school extra early in order to find a convenient space “I come to school early so I am able to get good parking. A friend of mine comes late and has to park far” said student Jessica Mayoral.
The bulk of classes are either mornings or night, arriving to school at least 15 minutes before class would be a good plan to avoid a slew of cars racing into the parking structure and to allow yourself any extra time needed to walk to class.
I have the feeling I am not the only RCC student that finds themselves parking out in the back of Lovekin Field, then sprinting up the countless steep stairs with the sweat dripping from my brow and the sound track from Rocky playing in the background, only to find my dream of getting to class on time has been crushed by the extra minutes it took to run clear across campus.
Nursing student Sheryl Walters says “I have to park in the bottom of the structure or far in Lovekin. I think parking has improved but they still need more.” While the whole point of students attending college should be to further their education and to learn discipline by actually getting to class on time, some well located parking spots would be an added bonus.
The new structure has produced 33 percent more parking on campus which is a 33 percent reason to complain less. But, when you can’t find a space on campus or the only open spaces are the metered areas it is no wonder parking is such a big deal. As students we are required to pay for a 40 dollar parking pass at the beginning of the semester to park on campus. If you happen to not buy a pass, or if you accidentally go over the meter time there is a good possibility you may walk out to your car to find a nice $25 ticket staring at you through your windshield. Personal past experience has taught me the valuable lesson that it is better to cough up the 40 bucks or end up paying it regardless in tickets or meter fees throughout the semester.
As we approach the fourth week of classes the once packed parking seems to be “chilling out.” “It’s hard to find a good spot, I can’t imagine how it was before the structure was built. It was worse in the beginning of the semester but is getting better” said first year student Eloysa Lara. With time rolling by and the semester continuing, the amount of students decreases with drops and class changes, also people become more organized with their personal schedule and figure out how to work around the more crowded times.
So, until everyone gets into the groove of spring semester and the hectic parking clears up my suggestion is to wear some good walking shoes.
