Pound that pavement

Parking woes frustrate students, faculty and staff alike

by MARCO SIMONELLI

If you are a student or a member of the staff at Longview Community College, you had better arrive at the parking lot 15-20 minutes before the beginning of class. That’s the time it generally takes to to find a parking spot and walk to the destination building.
Many complaints seem to land on the Dean of Student Development’s desk, according to the dean, Janet Cline. But, as she likes to underline, other colleges have students pay to park their cars in parking lots that are farther away from the campus’ main buildings than Longview’s.
The situation is far from idyllic, though, especially at the beginning of the semester, when the increased presence of student in the campus, due to the new enrollments, saturates the parking area close to the Campus Center. After the first couple of weeks, though, everything seems to return to normal, says political science instructor Dr. Kenneth Hartman. The staff members’ major complaint is that the parking area reserved for them is always occupied by student cars, without the required sticker. The campus security officers are also asked by the college, for the first week of the semester, not to give fines to the undisciplined drivers. After this period of low enforcement there is a fine of $5 for irregular parking and, for the repeat offenders, a talk with the dean.
“We want to give to the new students a week to adjust to the college rules” Cline says. When it comes to the mis-use of the handicap parking spots, the circle drive or the grass as a parking spot, she offers no excuses.
“It is impolite and disrespectful of the security and the law”. It is true that the construction going on at the liberal arts building is taking away a relevant area of the parking lot, about 80 parking spots are missing right now, Cline adds. College Security Officers are surveying the parking lots at different times during the day and have reported that there is still enough room for the students and staff members to park their cars, even if not in a convenient spot.