Everybody has a complaint about the parking on-campus at Cortland. Many of those people, however, don’t know where the solution lies.
As we all know by now, the parking options at SUNY Cortland are not the best. Whether you have to park in D-lot and take the bus to get your car or you park at the Casey or Neubig parking lots and get ticketed, the consensus among students seems to be that the parking on campus is an issue.
There are so many ways we can help the parking situation get better on campus. There is a parking lot across the street from Van Hoesen Hall and I feel students should allow to park there. I never even knew what that parking lot was used for since there is low traffic coming in and out of that lot. After witnessing the struggle to find parking over the course of the semester, I am of the opinion that the parking lot should be opened to students.
While I do not have my car on campus, I have seen numerous incidents of students stuck with severely inconvenient parking more times than I can remember. Frankly, I don’t know why this specific parking lot isn’t opening to the student population, but that should absolutely change.
Besides students, I’ve also witnessed visitors having problems with the on campus parking. My parents came to Cortland for visiting week and they had to repeatedly move their car because they couldn’t leave their car on the hill where they came in. I have had friends come to visit campus twice now and both times, they had issues with the parking. One of my friends parked at Casey Hall and got three tickets in one weekend. That’s crazy!
Why should a visitor of a student be forced to park in D-Lot and either pay for the bus to the buildings or walk half an hour from their car just to see their friend or their child? In my opinion there should be a visitor parking lot somewhere close to campus. Personally I don’t even understand why there is a parking lot there if you can’t park in it. The weather is obviously not the best up here which also plays a role in the struggle of getting to your car if it is in D lot.
Parking should be accessible for all whether you are a commuter or an on-campus student. I think students should be able to park wherever there is a parking lot because the parking which is available now is abysmal. Some students end up being late or miss half the class because they cannot find anywhere to park.
If students are missing class or their academics are being affected because they can’t find parking within a 20 minute walk to their building then it is beyond an issue of inconvenience. Something has to be done, and soon.