2008 Woodie Awards
Parking garage would help make more efficient use of space
STAFF EDITORIAL
Issue date: 10/29/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
ONE OF THE most common complaints voiced by University of South Alabama students and faculty is problems with parking. Though it is arguably that USA really has a parking problem (especially when we compare USA to other schools, who truly do have parking issues), it is clear that the problem is only going to get worse.
As our university continues to grow, both in numbers of students and faculty and through building expansions, our parking lots will continue to feel an increased strain. Current construction projects are already cutting into parking lots. With the proposed, Bell Tower, new Recreation Center and Health Sciences Building soon to be coming, the University can expect the loss of even more parking spaces, or at the very least potential parking spaces.
But there is a solution: Build a parking garage. The construction of a single, centrally located parking garage would help the University free up, and make more efficient use out of, space.
Other universities have made the move to the parking garage and such a move has helped them accomadate growth much more efficiently.
Take Florida State University for example. FSU use to have problems with congestions, parking, and trying to accomadate growth. Now FSU's primary student parking lot is in the form of parking garages. They still have a few small parking lots outside of these garages, but these are mostly to accomdate faculty and staff. Adding the parking garages at FSU has allowed FSU to grow into one of the most space-efficient campuses in the country.
A garage-based parking system could also work wonders at USA. Congestion would decrease, parking problems would decrease and there would be plenty of room for growth since there would be no need for dozens of separate parking lots. The only parking lots that should remain after the addition of a centrally located parking garage would be small areas for faculty and staff parking and for unloading. Also parking should remain available near the stadium and around the dorms. At this point a second stadium-and-dorm parking garage would seem to be a little bit of overkill.
Of course, the move to a single major parking place would require a more reliable transit system. So far, the JagTran's reliability rating has been mediocre at best. But with a little ingenuity, a few additions and a few alterations, the JagTran should prove to be capable of handling student traffic from a single centrally located parking garage.
As our university continues to grow, both in numbers of students and faculty and through building expansions, our parking lots will continue to feel an increased strain. Current construction projects are already cutting into parking lots. With the proposed, Bell Tower, new Recreation Center and Health Sciences Building soon to be coming, the University can expect the loss of even more parking spaces, or at the very least potential parking spaces.
But there is a solution: Build a parking garage. The construction of a single, centrally located parking garage would help the University free up, and make more efficient use out of, space.
Other universities have made the move to the parking garage and such a move has helped them accomadate growth much more efficiently.
Take Florida State University for example. FSU use to have problems with congestions, parking, and trying to accomadate growth. Now FSU's primary student parking lot is in the form of parking garages. They still have a few small parking lots outside of these garages, but these are mostly to accomdate faculty and staff. Adding the parking garages at FSU has allowed FSU to grow into one of the most space-efficient campuses in the country.
A garage-based parking system could also work wonders at USA. Congestion would decrease, parking problems would decrease and there would be plenty of room for growth since there would be no need for dozens of separate parking lots. The only parking lots that should remain after the addition of a centrally located parking garage would be small areas for faculty and staff parking and for unloading. Also parking should remain available near the stadium and around the dorms. At this point a second stadium-and-dorm parking garage would seem to be a little bit of overkill.
Of course, the move to a single major parking place would require a more reliable transit system. So far, the JagTran's reliability rating has been mediocre at best. But with a little ingenuity, a few additions and a few alterations, the JagTran should prove to be capable of handling student traffic from a single centrally located parking garage.
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