Picture yourself driving to school on a cool, fall day. There are only 10 minutes until your English class starts and you want to find a parking space fast so you won’t miss the beginning of your test. As you pull into the parking lot by the bookstore, you see it’s jam-packed as usual. There are two cars in front of you that are stuck in the middle of the aisle and there seems to be no empty space in sight. So you pull out of the parking lot and go to other the one near the technology building.
You sigh in frustration – you now have to walk even further to the Liberal Arts building. You drive down one row, then another until, Ta-da! There’s an empty parking spot. You jump out of the car, grab your backpack, and speed walk to the Liberal Arts building, now 10 minutes late for class and losing time to complete the test.
This is a typical day for most HFCC students and faculty. Finding a parking space is like finding a two dollar bill: they’re very hard to come by. Turns out, parking is a heated topic amongst students and faculty.
“It’s crazy,” says student Nicole Curry. “People fight over parking spots! Some of my friends won’t register here because of the parking.”
Gina D’Alessio, one of the music professors, says parking “is ridiculous.” Sometimes, she has to park in the student lot because the faculty one is full. Although the HFCC tennis courts and baseball diamond were removed, paved over, and made into parking lots, student parking still seems to be a problem. Is there any way to improve the current parking situation?
“They should build another parking lot,” said student Blake Maynard.
Curry also had the same idea, saying the school should have a new parking lot for students only.
“The ratio of students to teachers is higher, so students need more space,” said Curry. However, there isn’t much room left for the creation of new lots.
Another student, Jessica Johnson, gave a different perspective on how to fix the parking problem. She suggested HFCC faculty and students should have parking passes or visors to check into parking. That way, no one from outside the campus will be able to park in the lots.
“There should be more security guards in the parking lots, especially at night, so students will not sneak into faculty parking lots,” suggested HFCC teacher Ms. D’Alessio.
Until the administration announces any plans to change the parking system, there are other alternatives you can take to get to school. For example, you can leave your vehicle at Fairlane Mall and hop on the continuous shuttle bus to HFCC. There is also a Smart bus at the mall that can pick you up from there or an area closer to home. Or if you don’t want to take the bus, you and a few friends who have class the same days can carpool and create a few extra spaces in the parking lot. Making these changes to your routine can help make parking a significant problem into a minor one.