By Ryan Talton ’27, staff writer
Everyone at LVC understands parking is an issue. Frequent emails from campus safety allocating parking for weekend events shows there are not enough spaces to fulfill all LVC’s needs.
The problem has reached the point where campus safety is allowing students to park in the grass or along the curb in red lot. This puts increased pressure on facilities to maintain the grounds and presents a safety hazard if emergency vehicles would need to access Arnold Field quickly.
There is not one solution that will solve the problem. Several solutions must be implemented to resolve the problem.
The first step is to increase the cost of bringing a vehicle to campus. The current yearly rate of $75 is much less than other colleges that have ample parking. Increasing the fee to $150 would deter students who don’t absolutely need to have a vehicle on campus from bringing one.
The second step is to prevent students from bringing multiple vehicles to campus. There is no need to have more than one vehicle on campus. Temporary parking passes are available at no cost if a student’s primary vehicle is having maintenance done for a short period and they require a secondary vehicle.
The third and final step is to build a three-level parking garage where gold lot is. The other solutions only go so far, and many students will choose to pay the increased cost to bring their vehicle to campus. Many students also only register one vehicle. Building a parking garage will alleviate congestion, allow for more parking during events and accommodate increasing class sizes.
Implementing this three-pronged solution will solve many of LVC’s parking challenges. Funding for the parking garage can be obtained in part from the increased vehicle registration fee. This solution will adequately allow LVC to accommodate the parking needs of its students and guests well into the future.