Any place holding a large volume of people, whether it be a business or school, is going to need to be prepared for a large volume of cars.
According to Sinclair’s own website, there are about 18,000 students (this includes those taking online classes) enrolled and taking classes at the main Dayton campus, which means the school is no exception to this problem.
The school has many parking lots and a parking garage to attempt to alleviate this problem.
Even with the attempts to make parking easier and faster, things inevitably get confusing during the first week of the semester where there are many new students coming to campus for the first time.
Workers were present in the first few weeks of the semester to help guide students to the best place in the parking garage.
There are new lots that have opened starting this fall semester to contribute to the ease of parking.
The first few weeks of the semester always demonstrates the max amount of people that will be attempting to park, since some students drop or find other methods of transportation throughout the semester.
The current construction taking place on campus also creates another obstacle. Construction equipment is located where faculty parking used to be. This has led to the first floor of the parking garage being used as parking for the faculty.
This means that students can only use the second level and up.
The parking garage can fill up pretty fast, especially during the afternoons when many students are in their morning classes.
Although the new parking lots are aimed to solve parking frustrations, many students do not know they exist.
“I didn’t know that there were new parking lots,” said student Michael Powell.
Many students that didn’t know about the new available spaces found that the garage and the existing lots already fit their needs.
“They can’t really make it any more convenient,” says Rebecca. “They are conveniently placed,” said Christopher, another student.
Other students love the new parking lots. Having more options around campus is a big plus for them.
“It offers more variety, I think it’s a good idea,” said Ian.
Although some think the new lots are easier and quicker, some think that they add to the confusion.
“I liked it better the old way, it’s more confusing now,” says Mary.
A few students also ignore the parking garage entirely, instead taking the bus or parking in the street in front of the school.
A student named Curtis does this, saying “The lot’s really stuffy… it’s a hassle to get in there so I just park in the street and use the parking meter so I’m not 10 or 15 minutes late for class.”
However some students also get confused and frustrated with other drivers in the parking garage.
When going up or down a level in the garage, a driver has to be aware of traffic coming from three directions. With this traffic, students also have to be aware of pedestrians.
When a big amount of people come in at once pedestrians become another big obstacle for drivers.
Leaving the parking garage can sometimes lead you to some traffic as well. Some specific times see longer waits in traffic than others, as they tend to be during more popular times to end the school day.
When everyone is trying to get out of the garage at once, things tend to jam up. The max amount of time to wait seems to be ten minutes, which can seem like a long time if you are waiting to get home after a long school day.
From new lots to workers helping direct traffic during the first weeks of the semester, there are many efforts put forth by Sinclair to help alleviate the issues with parking on campus.
Students have many different feelings about the current situation as well as efforts towards the situation. These feelings tend to be positive as parking becomes more available and easier to navigate.
Sean Khale
Staff Writer