Parking is bad; let’s fix it
May 19, 2016
I get it, parking is bad. There are not enough spots near the university for the amount of people needing one. People do not deserve to be driving around the parking lot for half-an-hour just for a chance to find a spot.
I have heard numerous stories of people having to risk getting a ticket by parking in the 30-minute spots just to be in time for class.
Unfortunately, another parking lot is not going to magically appear near the SURC anytime soon.
People that have gone to a community college and commuted to school everyday, while fighting for a parking spot, know the feeling well.
When I was at Green River College, there were 10,000 students enrolled and 2,000 parking spots – not very good odds whatsoever.
Fortunately, they provided some relief for people willing to arrive early. People could park at Pacific Raceways and take a shuttle over to the college.
The shuttle was a six to eight minute drive. There were two of them going, one at the raceway taking people and the other picking up students to take back.
Yes, sometimes you would have to sit next to a smelly person and have to wake up and leave earlier but having the peace of mind in already have a guaranteed parking spot while not having to stress was worth it.
Central Washington University needs to incorporate a shuttle system (separate from Central Transit) to help with the demand of parking needed in the morning and afternoon when everyone is in class.
All they would need is a couple drivers to go back and forth from 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday.
A place that already has parking spots would be the Kittitas Valley Event Center, but there could be some conflict with preparing for weekend events on Friday. This location is almost close enough for students to walk over, but it would be a good idea to shuttle students over.
Another good spot to have the parking lot would be north of campus where many apartments are. Many students could walk or park and be shuttled over to the SURC.
Of course there would not be a place ready to use, all that would be needed is space and grass or gravel to use.
A couple other good places are east of town down Vantage Highway or south of town by the hospital.
The cost of this would be going to the students and the university, which could get expensive with paying two full-time drivers, gas and maintenance of the vehicles.
The grass field across from Wendell Hill Hall and Student Village would be a perfect place to have extra parking. Without necessarily needing a shuttle service here students could walk.
Having a shuttle service would meet the parking demand that the university has, while not taking up space near the school.
Alysha pickler • May 23, 2016 at 10:05 pm
I doubt a lot of people would find a shuttle useful, as they do already have the option to use the transit. I think using the field across from Wendell hall as a parking lot would be a good choice as it is hardly ever used besides for the occasional sport group and marching band. For occasions like that they could easily use the other fields. There’s also a lot of empty grass space by the back of the science building and and anthropology building across from the Cwu police station that could be more useful and parking spots, especially with the brand new science building right there. There is so much grass in between all the class room builds and the surc, that, those other grass areas aren’t necessary, just a bunch of wasted space that looks nice. Also you could easily extend the library parking, push it a little close to the library or out more on the left side. Also the extra parking lot on D street could be extended a lot also, as there’s so much wasted land that hardly ever gets used there. So much more room, plenty of room to add parking. The CEu campus either needs to stop accepting so many people each year, or find room for new parking. I know so many people who miss classes and get bad grades just because they couldn’t find a parking spot.