While students repeatedly circle the lots for hours staff parking remains available

A view of Parking Lot “F” at Riverside City College’s lower campus where you can see several of open staff parking spaces and minimal student spaces available Nov 30.

Parking at Riverside City College is something out of a cliched horror movie. We hear and even see the monster coming, yet for some reason we charge in head first knowing the doom we’re sure to face. The endless circling of the parking structure has become maddening and vaguely like a treasured pastime.

There is possibly nothing more frustrating than thinking you’ve finally found parking after circling the lot for nearly your entire class time only to notice the only space available is painted with yellow lines.

Staff only parking spots remain wide open for the taking even though many staff members have already found their parking spots for the day. Meanwhile even on days with less student, they still fight for a spot.

When the Charles A. Kane Student Services and Administration Building was erected mainly students, but also staff lost valued parking spaces. While the prospects of RCC building another parking structure is slim there is a simple and possibly long term solution. The staff parking in key areas, namely near the Arthur G. Paul Quadrangle, the Digital Library and the Math and Science building, could be painted white.

While it may seem like staff would be losing parking they’re not, painting the lines white would mean that anyone can park there. At first the staff will likely try to strike down this idea most likely claim they need to be close to their class for important reasons that they’ll never disclose. There’s a simple solution for anyone trying to get that perfectly located spot: “leave earlier,” a line many instructors have wielded against students.

Perhaps once the instructors feel the parking monster breathing down their neck and stalking them around the lots something will be done about parking. For too long parking has been an issue at RCC and it’s only going to get worse.

Once parking becomes an issue for instructors maybe then whoever applies for building grants on behalf of RCC will ask for one that allows them to build what they need, a new multilevel parking structure.

Yes it is in the best interest of RCC to update the look of buildings, consolidate various services to a single building and even an entirely new building to house the culinary program. Those things are all vital to expanding and creating a cohesive RCC but where do they expect people to park to get services besides culinary?

Talking about parking repeatedly may seem like a tedious subject because it has been heard a thousand times before, which it is, but unfortunately it is something that must be spoken on. As long as it is a problem with no sign of a solution in sight, the subject will continue to be hammered into the dirt.

Parking at RCC shouldn’t have students waking up at the crack of dawn just to get chewed up and spit out by a fictional monster. The system needs to be simplified and balanced for everyone who parks no matter what time they arrive on campus.