Opinion
It’s kind of a big deal.
Parking at Sinclair Community College can be hectic at times, especially during the first few weeks of each quarter. In my sociology class, I remember several students complaining about having trouble finding somewhere to park. There are a total of eight lots, each with their own restrictions listed on Sinclair’s Web site. The current system Sinclair has for parking is $1 for students who pay with their Tartan Cards and $2 for those who pay in cash. Sinclair also allows visitors to park in Lot A.
For the most part, I don’t have a problem with the parking situation at Sinclair, mainly because I’m familiar with it. I know that if I want to get a parking space and not be late to my classes that I should be in the parking garage at least 30 minutes before my classes. But just because the situation isn’t out of control doesn’t mean it can’t improve.
With the influx of students attending Sinclair’s main campus, I think that for quarters to come the parking problem will only get worse and it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. I’m more of a solution-oriented person than a complainer, so I have come up with a possible cure to Sinclair’s parking woes.
With the amount of students at Sinclair, I think that priority parking would solve a lot of issues. Full-time Sinclair students deserve a parking space more than a part-time student because full-time students are required to spend more time at Sinclair.
I suggest that Sinclair designates each parking lot and meter with a high, medium, or low priority. Students would receive parking passes that designate which lots they could park in. Students taking one to five credit hours would receive a low priority pass, students with six to 11 credit hours would receive a medium priority pass, and students taking 12+ credit hours would receive a high priority pass. Visitors would only be able to park in a low priority parking lot because with Sinclair being a commuter college the best parking spaces should only be available for students. Each student would have an idea of where they would need to park on a consistent basis and it would cut down on the chaos of parking during the first few weeks of the quarter.
It might seem petty to complain about something as small as parking, but it’s an issue that rears its ugly head at beginning of each quarter. There may be flaws in my idea, but I think that it’s a step to making parking at Sinclair run more efficiently. And if the parking situation improves, I can start complaining about the real issues.
Like, the lack of microwaves on campus.