Parking looks to improve on campus in the future
The Traveler Editorial Board
Issue date: 2/6/09 Section: Opinion
UA Transit and Parking officials lengthened the hours of free parking at the HPER this year, a step forward in providing more accessible parking for students around campus.
The parking lot west of the HPER is metered, but students may park free after 5 p.m., a better deal than before the softball field was torn down when students could park free only after 8 p.m.
Despite the more convenient parking hours, UA students probably won't ever be completely satisfied with the availability of parking on campus, and they certainly won't be in favor of what seems like an abundance of unwarranted parking tickets.
But the university isn't alone in its parking congestion woes. Institutions across the nation scramble every year to build parking lots and garages to accommodate rising enrollment numbers, and for the schools like the UA that allow freshmen to bring cars on campus, overcrowding is to be expected.
But, from what we can tell, parking officials aren't sitting back and simply watching the parking tickets pile up - at least we hope not. Metered parking at the HPER might be expensive, but the spaces are convenient (and free after 5 p.m., as mentioned earlier).
And, though expensive, the construction of the Garland Center - which, according to the Facilities Management Planning Group Web site, is set to include a parking garage among a bookstore and several shops - will almost certainly help ease parking problems.
Until the construction of the Garland Center is complete, parking on campus won't be pretty. But it's encouraging that the UA is taking the necessary steps to remedy the problem, and lengthened hours in the HPER parking lot sure can't hurt.
The parking lot west of the HPER is metered, but students may park free after 5 p.m., a better deal than before the softball field was torn down when students could park free only after 8 p.m.
Despite the more convenient parking hours, UA students probably won't ever be completely satisfied with the availability of parking on campus, and they certainly won't be in favor of what seems like an abundance of unwarranted parking tickets.
But the university isn't alone in its parking congestion woes. Institutions across the nation scramble every year to build parking lots and garages to accommodate rising enrollment numbers, and for the schools like the UA that allow freshmen to bring cars on campus, overcrowding is to be expected.
But, from what we can tell, parking officials aren't sitting back and simply watching the parking tickets pile up - at least we hope not. Metered parking at the HPER might be expensive, but the spaces are convenient (and free after 5 p.m., as mentioned earlier).
And, though expensive, the construction of the Garland Center - which, according to the Facilities Management Planning Group Web site, is set to include a parking garage among a bookstore and several shops - will almost certainly help ease parking problems.
Until the construction of the Garland Center is complete, parking on campus won't be pretty. But it's encouraging that the UA is taking the necessary steps to remedy the problem, and lengthened hours in the HPER parking lot sure can't hurt.
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