2008 Woodie Awards
Lack of walking the real problem
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: Rocket Letters
To the editor:
Want to know one of the solutions to solving the parking problem on campus?
Walk.
Seriously man, if you live on Kiester Road, or in Towers, or really close to campus, how hard is it to leave a few minutes earlier and walk?
Also, if you realize that every single parking spot is full and your last option are those lonely few in East Lake by the baseball stadium, start walking instead of wasting your time and gas sitting like a vulture ready to pounce on a spot that someone is walking to.
It really does no good to wait and end up late for class or a meeting, plus walking is actually decent exercise.
I don't believe that the university should prohibit freshmen from having cars on campus, but I do believe that the parking office should limit the number of permits given out.
Do members of the police force pay for their parking spots? I doubt they rarely have to walk further than from the parking lot of the office into the office. Except for, of course, when they're excessively hiking from parked car to parked car handing out tickets, and then they jump in the SUVs and ride back to the office.
And what about President Smith's Segway? Does that get a parking spot, too?
I'd like to think that the $132,330 the university pocketed in one year from parking violations is going toward the creation of more spots on campus, yet I fear it may go toward other ways of spending, such as providing the university police vehicles with enough gas to travel from Kiester to Sheetz and back.
Michelle Paulsen
Senior
English
To the editor:
Parking problem? No, it's a walking problem. For four years I have watched as the "parking problem" has been repeatedly mentioned and discussed within The Rocket and around campus. The idea of a parking problem exists at most universities, not just Slippery Rock University. The parking problems that haunt universities across the nation are simply walking problems in disguise.
A lot of students will immediately point the finger at our administration. Although our administration is not completely innocent, I choose to point the finger at the students. Time management and exercise: If you live in any of the surrounding apartment complexes near campus you should not be driving, you should be walking!
Wake up a little bit earlier; give yourself enough time to get to class on time. Some people think Slippery Rock is not safe enough to walk around, but the campus is extremely well lit and who doesn't carry a cell phone!?
Last week, The Rocket defined students as parking "vultures." I choose to call these students parking "sloths." While students sit lazily waiting for a perfect spot they could have parked at East Lake or not driven at all, getting their morning exercise, and lowering their carbon foot print.
How soon Slippery Rock students forget, Leave It Green came about last year because of this so-called "parking problem." A "green" space on campus was going to be paved. Students expressed their opinions and won. An open forum was even held to discuss the paving of this "green" space and the "parking problem" in general.
This forum was open to all students from all sides of the issue. That night, not one student voiced an opinion about wanting more parking. The students at this forum wanted less pavement, suggesting more alternative and less detrimental solutions.
The Rocket mentioned some alternative solutions to our walking problem, including a lottery parking pass system, and a boundary area.
Some ideas that were not mentioned were raising the fees for parking passes. $25 is cheap. In addition parking passes could be limited to upperclassmen. Do freshman really need cars on campus?
Our administration needs to look into these alternative solutions, and students need to stop being lazy. A parking garage is not practical. It's time for smarter more environmentally and economically friendly solutions.
Dan Cannon
Senior
Environmental studies
To the editor:
Seeing these recent articles about the parking situation has left me feeling quite confused.
I am a commuter who lives in Butler. I travel to campus every day. I never see a full campus in regards to the parking spaces. I never see East Lake parking lot full.
It seems to me the problem on campus isn't parking, but a problem of convenience. Many people want to arrive on campus with enough time to squeeze into their seat before classes begin. If people would manage their time wisely and accept that they may actually have to walk (God forbid), there wouldn't be an issue.
Some simple fixes might include re-painting the lines in the parking lots so people can see the spaces (this will include ticketing the people who still feel the need to take up two spaces), investing in some bike racks and donating some bikes to the green bike initiative, or denying parking passes to people who live within a mile of the university.
Let's not pave the campus just yet. Let's start with simple solutions first.
Samuel L. Piel
Senior
Environmental studies
Want to know one of the solutions to solving the parking problem on campus?
Walk.
Seriously man, if you live on Kiester Road, or in Towers, or really close to campus, how hard is it to leave a few minutes earlier and walk?
Also, if you realize that every single parking spot is full and your last option are those lonely few in East Lake by the baseball stadium, start walking instead of wasting your time and gas sitting like a vulture ready to pounce on a spot that someone is walking to.
It really does no good to wait and end up late for class or a meeting, plus walking is actually decent exercise.
I don't believe that the university should prohibit freshmen from having cars on campus, but I do believe that the parking office should limit the number of permits given out.
Do members of the police force pay for their parking spots? I doubt they rarely have to walk further than from the parking lot of the office into the office. Except for, of course, when they're excessively hiking from parked car to parked car handing out tickets, and then they jump in the SUVs and ride back to the office.
And what about President Smith's Segway? Does that get a parking spot, too?
I'd like to think that the $132,330 the university pocketed in one year from parking violations is going toward the creation of more spots on campus, yet I fear it may go toward other ways of spending, such as providing the university police vehicles with enough gas to travel from Kiester to Sheetz and back.
Michelle Paulsen
Senior
English
To the editor:
Parking problem? No, it's a walking problem. For four years I have watched as the "parking problem" has been repeatedly mentioned and discussed within The Rocket and around campus. The idea of a parking problem exists at most universities, not just Slippery Rock University. The parking problems that haunt universities across the nation are simply walking problems in disguise.
A lot of students will immediately point the finger at our administration. Although our administration is not completely innocent, I choose to point the finger at the students. Time management and exercise: If you live in any of the surrounding apartment complexes near campus you should not be driving, you should be walking!
Wake up a little bit earlier; give yourself enough time to get to class on time. Some people think Slippery Rock is not safe enough to walk around, but the campus is extremely well lit and who doesn't carry a cell phone!?
Last week, The Rocket defined students as parking "vultures." I choose to call these students parking "sloths." While students sit lazily waiting for a perfect spot they could have parked at East Lake or not driven at all, getting their morning exercise, and lowering their carbon foot print.
How soon Slippery Rock students forget, Leave It Green came about last year because of this so-called "parking problem." A "green" space on campus was going to be paved. Students expressed their opinions and won. An open forum was even held to discuss the paving of this "green" space and the "parking problem" in general.
This forum was open to all students from all sides of the issue. That night, not one student voiced an opinion about wanting more parking. The students at this forum wanted less pavement, suggesting more alternative and less detrimental solutions.
The Rocket mentioned some alternative solutions to our walking problem, including a lottery parking pass system, and a boundary area.
Some ideas that were not mentioned were raising the fees for parking passes. $25 is cheap. In addition parking passes could be limited to upperclassmen. Do freshman really need cars on campus?
Our administration needs to look into these alternative solutions, and students need to stop being lazy. A parking garage is not practical. It's time for smarter more environmentally and economically friendly solutions.
Dan Cannon
Senior
Environmental studies
To the editor:
Seeing these recent articles about the parking situation has left me feeling quite confused.
I am a commuter who lives in Butler. I travel to campus every day. I never see a full campus in regards to the parking spaces. I never see East Lake parking lot full.
It seems to me the problem on campus isn't parking, but a problem of convenience. Many people want to arrive on campus with enough time to squeeze into their seat before classes begin. If people would manage their time wisely and accept that they may actually have to walk (God forbid), there wouldn't be an issue.
Some simple fixes might include re-painting the lines in the parking lots so people can see the spaces (this will include ticketing the people who still feel the need to take up two spaces), investing in some bike racks and donating some bikes to the green bike initiative, or denying parking passes to people who live within a mile of the university.
Let's not pave the campus just yet. Let's start with simple solutions first.
Samuel L. Piel
Senior
Environmental studies
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Robert Makowski
posted 9/29/07 @ 11:23 AM EST
Can the talk about the parking problem at SRU please stop?!? How many years are we going to talk about it? I'm a 2005 grad, and this same old conversation was taking place when I was a freshman. (Continued…)
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