EDITORIAL - Velorution doesn't fix parking isssues

SOURCE: Ripon College Days

The first weekend of school brings the same activities held year after year at Ripon. Students flock to the quad or Merriman in hopes of having a fun night of socializing, first year students are attempting to find their niche on campus while not losing who they are, and cars find their ways into made up parking spots within the lots from students placing their precious automobiles into safe storage.

This weekend was much the same, yet there were still streets full of cars, and students anxiously awaiting an answer from physical plant as to whether or not their car will find a happy home on the college's pavement. This year, despite the Velorution project, cars are strewn around campus with no great scheme for storage.

The change in parking registration is the first culprit for the problem. Expecting students busy with finals, not to mention those abroad, to figure out where they would want to park their vehicle months in advance poses a huge challenge. There were no problems or complaints from upperclassmen setting their alarms earlier than the sun rose to go to plant for registration in the fall, so the shift in timing seemed to occur without real necessity. Although it was changed so that payment was not needed at the time, it was difficult for students to determine which higher-cost lot they wanted to park in with the tumultuous economy. A student who registered for a more expensive lot may have only been able to afford a storage lot stall, creating even more problems with the system.

Another problem with the lack of parking comes from the laissez-faire approach to enforcement. While parking tickets are given out like candy on Halloween, other portions of policy are not strict enough. A parking pass for the Kemper lot could warrant a student to park either in the upper area, closer to the tennis courts, in the lower area, directly by Kemper, or even in the storage lot if there are no open spots within the lot. It causes too many options for students. Instead of receiving parking lots, students should reserve a parking stall. It would help make parking violations easier to identify. In addition, it would be convenient to know exactly how far you need to carry your groceries to the front door of your residence.

If nothing else, it would provide a sense of ownership for students. Knowing there is something on campus, aside from our rooms and mailboxes, that is strictly ours would help students all over campus take pride in something we've now had to pay more for, despite problems still occurring within the system.

The last issue comes with the changing in parking throughout the college's recent past. The large TriDorms/Johnson Hall lot had been removed to build the Campus Apartments, but not enough parking was created for students to make up for those missing spots. Last year, parking seemed efficient; however about a hundred students opted not to bring a car in lieu of receiving a free bicycle. Those students who pledged not to bring a car for a year now have the ability to have two modes of transportation on campus, instead of one compact choice last year.

The campus is urged to make a change. Although the campus has plenty of lush, green grass and other sources of nature all around, to help students store their cars, trucks and SUVs, it might just take some changes that make for helpful solutions.