Like death and taxes, a guarantee in life is a chaotic parking arrangement at UH. Many were aware the situation would be hectic as always, but nothing could brace a driver for the madness of trying to find a spot Monday.
To put in the words of one of our readers, “we have a Carmageddon this semester,” @htown747 said in a tweet.
Professors, please do not assume that every student who was absent or late Monday discounted the significance of the first day. Part of Monday’s collective tardiness and truancy can be directly traced to how elusive parking spaces are.
Others can be linked to the long distances students had to walk after they found a spot.
Part of the dilemma stems from the construction of a new parking garage at lot 15D. In order to create more parking spots, many had to be taken away on a temporary basis.
The new lot will give the campus an addition of more than 2,000 new spots, a move we highly approve of. But the construction of this lot could not have come at a more inconvenient time for students.
If you purchased a commuter, economy or student parking pass you are not necessarily guaranteed a spot.
Paying more than $100 to the University for parking should ensure something, but that is simply not the case.
Students have to prioritize parking. Instead of using their time to brush up on literature, math or science, students are spending far too long pursuing a reasonable place to park.
Many UH students get an education in parking lot stalking — following a person to their spot so you can take it as soon as they leave. Valuable time should be spent following other pursuits.
The campus is not prepared for the high volume of cars that come to campus every day. This is one of many issues that must be resolved to make UH a more appealing institution.
If the University can hardly accommodate students who bought parking permits, how will it handle a large influx of visitors?
The article states, "Paying more than $100 to the University for parking should ensure something, but that is simply not the case." As an Alum who attended before there were student parking garages, I understand your frustration. But in light of not having enough spaces for everyone, what alternative would you propose? One would be to have a lottery, in which the limited amount of permits issued will guarnantee a permit holder always has a spot. But this would leave a significant amount of students without permits while reducing the revenue that the school receives from oversold parking permits (generally considered an undesirable outcome). Or, the price of permits could be set at a market equilibrium level where the price of a guaranteed spot equals the demand for a guaranteed spot. But then a parking permit might end up costing $500+ per semester – an amount many student can't afford (probably not a desirable outcome either)…Or the school could temporarily reduce the number of available spots while they build a garage so that the situation improves in the long term. While it is inconvenient to the current students, the University appears to be taking the best course of action.
The article states, "Paying more than $100 to the University for parking should ensure something, but that is simply not the case." As an Alum who attended before there were student parking garages, I understand your frustration. But in light of not having enough spaces for everyone, what alternative would you propose? One would be to have a lottery, in which the limited amount of permits issued will guarnantee a permit holder always has a spot. But this would leave a significant amount of students without permits while reducing the revenue that the school receives from oversold parking permits (generally considered an undesirable outcome). Or, the price of permits could be set at a market equilibrium level where the price of a guaranteed spot equals the demand for a guaranteed spot. But then a parking permit might end up costing $500+ per semester – an amount many student can't afford (probably not a desirable outcome either)…Or the school could temporarily reduce the number of available spots while they build a garage so that the situation improves in the long term. While it is inconvenient to the current students, the University appears to be taking the best course of action.
It makes it worse to build these parking garages because now students show up and they have this expectation of parking.
I have an idea: let's wreck the football stadium and build a garage or more parking spots!
I ride my bicycle to school every day. I've never had a problem with parking here.