Lack of space angers Bruin commuters

Wednesday, October 15, 1997

Lack of space angers Bruin commuters

PARKING Miscommunications

make this game a losing battle

UCLA is a very competitive institution. Academically, students
keep each other on their toes. Athletes excel in competition.
Researchers race toward new discoveries.

But none of these may be as competitive as the parking game at
UCLA.

The difficulty in finding parking on campus and the
mismanagement within Parking Services need to be fixed by finding
alternative sources of transportation and strengthening them. With
a combined student and staff population topping 55,000 and around
22,000 parking spaces, it’s no wonder parking conditions are
terrible.

There’s an obvious solution: add more parking spaces.
Unfortunately, it’s a very costly and perhaps impractical one. But
there’s an even better answer to solving all our parking problems:
public transportation, such as buses, vanpools and shuttles.

But in order for public transportation to be a viable option,
campus and city officials need to push for extended service to and
from campus and surrounding areas. UCLA and Parking Services need
to step in and provide students more information about local bus
stops, shuttle and vanpool routes and evening van services. The
parking department acknowledges the parking problems in their own
way; they have posted a sign outside their office which reads:
"Find another way to UCLA!" Simply admitting the problem exists
isn’t enough. Now they need to find solutions.

UCLA and Parking Services must work with the city to upgrade
existing public transportation options and encourage commuters to
use them. For many students living in the Palms area, the No. 12
Big Blue Bus functions as a virtual lifeline to the UCLA campus.
But it falls short when students must be on campus late and the bus
stops running at 8 p.m. The bus services, in addition to those
lines serving Santa Monica and Culver City, need to be expanded in
order to suit students’ schedules. After all, students are keeping
the buses in business.

For some students, such as those who live far or have inflexible
schedules, public transportation is just not a feasible option.
Students who live over a certain distance should be guaranteed
parking spaces. In their places, many Westwood residents are often
granted parking spaces because they claim to hold off-campus jobs
or give their permanent home addresses. The parking department
should verify that the applicants genuinely need parking spots.

The department’s general operations are questionable. Recently,
the department expanded hours for patrolling parking violations.
This meant that you could no longer park for free from 9 p.m. to 7
a.m. But the truth is you never were really allowed free parking.
The department simply was unable to enforce the rule, and now they
are. Yet, students were never notified of either the fact that they
weren’t allowed to park after hours nor of the change in
patrolling. At least not until they were cited. The department’s
failure to communicate with its customers is its fundamental
flaw.

Another example of this flaw: Students who applied for parking
this year were informed that the annual price for a permit was
$168. Later, to their surprise, they were charged $186. Apparently,
the first price was a typo. Yet some students were not told about
the discrepancy. At least not until they received their credit card
bills. Those who paid by cash or check were forced to pay the
additional $18, or they wouldn’t get the permit. And refunds were
not given.

UCLA and Parking Services officials need to start coming up with
solutions. Commuters find themselves racing for a spot to park.
Students’ lives are being ruled by bus schedules. Someone needs to
fix these problems, putting the services back into Parking
Services.

AELIA KHAN

This sign in front of UCLA Parking Services offers a solution
for parking woes.