By Saily Aloni
Parking – An everyday part of our lives. We leave home, go to school and work and park our cars. Public parking, private parking, metered parking. Not much thought is given to this part of our routine. Though one thing that makes it gain a big “in your face appearance”, is – the Parking tickets. Almost everyone who drives a car will undoubtedly have a story about getting a parking ticket. We can share a story with another and find a sympathizer. Knowing that you are not alone in this small but seemingly very large annoyance at that particular time when you find it on your windshield. Who would have thought that the parking woes would serve as a connection between strangers?
This month, we at The Voice decided to take a look at our parking system here at the Western campus of Tri-C. Over the past few years, there have been different methods of implementing parking arrangements. There were gates, then there were parking tags, and currently there aren’t any gates or tags. So, a new student who started last semester, yours truly, was confused and afraid of getting a parking ticket since I didn’t have a tag/sticker. Being used to paying separately for parking, I went to the Enrollment Services and found out that it was included in my tuition. Now, I know it pales in comparison to bigger issues in life, but that was a great relief. Knowing all I had to do was find a spot in student lots and I would be fine. It really made my day.
We wondered what prompted the change to this nice, albeit sometimes confusing to outsiders, system. So we asked the campus police, who were so very gracious to grant us their valuable time. Hallmark of a smart operation is cost effective technology. That is why the new system was implemented. It is cost effective. It reduced costs for equipment and the manpower. Currently, students can park anywhere in student lots – parking fee is included in their tuition & fees. Faculty and staff have their designated parking lots. Visitor lots are well accommodating and close to the buildings. If the visitor lot is full, a local resident can park in student lots and not get a ticket since it is a county community college.
All in all, students I asked on campus are happy with the parking system. Small things can make a difference in our daily routine. Parking is definitely one in mine.
