Parking on Main Campus has repeatedly been a growing pain and a nuisance for all the students that have to drive to campus.
Unfortunately, things have apparently gotten worse, especially for students with classes after 8:40 a.m.
With the construction of the new Tyler School of Art and Alter Hall, there are new “No Parking” signs lining the most convenient street behind the Student Center. The busy block of 12th Street and Montgomery Avenue is where late night “TECHies” tend to park their cars for all-nighters.
As you head toward Cecil B. Moore Avenue from 12th Street, the right-hand side of the street lost about six parking spots during the summer, with two new “No Parking” signs taking their place. Parking on campus has transformed from an annoying headache to a full blown migraine.
“I got a ticket there because they added that sign over the summer,” said Melissa Menardy, a junior tourism and hospitality management major.
Her $41 parking ticket is only one of her parking frustrations.
“On-campus parking is so much money that I have to park on the street, and when I do, I have to park four or five blocks away from all of my classes,” she added.
Most Main Campus parking lots request exact change while some are guaranteed access only, which means the spots are already paid for. All the spots are high priced, including the lot across the street from the Student Center, which costs $12 to park for a college student who probably isn’t even making $10 per hour at work.
The frustration definitely goes beyond Temple students, as some faculty members have decided to leave their cars at home all together.
“I ride a bicycle,” said George Miller, assistant professor of journalism. “So parking is a breeze.”
There are some incentives for not driving to campus. The lack of parking spots can motivate people to walk, ride bikes, skateboard and rollerblade or utilize other recreational means of transportation.
What about when it gets cold outside? What about the mornings you can’t ride your bicycle over the black ice-streaked streets with ruthless Philadelphia drivers intimidating bikers on the road? The exercise sounds like an easy way to make up for lost gym time, but the potential accidents and the freezing cold temperatures force students to car pool, use public transportation or walk. SEPTA is not the safest mode of transportation, and some people just don’t have enough time to spend a half an hour walking to campus.
Unfortunately, it seems the most convenient solution would be to drive to campus and dig a hole in your pockets for the parking lots, semester parking passes or the same for parking tickets.
In the end, you may find that you’d almost be spending the same amount of money on parking tickets as you would for the on-campus lots or a semester long pass.
Tara Moore can be reached at tara.moore@temple.edu.
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