It’s no secret that parking is an issue on the University of New Haven campus – plenty of articles have been written about it over the years. But what I can’t seem to wrap my head around is that, in my three years as a commuting student, the University has done absolutely nothing about it. And now, with all of this snow, conditions have only gotten worse.
Parking was bad enough before – last year, the University got rid of multiple parking lots to make room for a new dorm at ease and other amenities, and, in addition, took up various spaces with dumpsters, University vehicles and other unnecessary placeholders. What amazes me is that these vehicles still seem to be able to park wherever they please, while students, faculty and staff get ticketed for failing to park in their designated spaces (allegedly—I have witnessed plenty of cases where people have not received parking tickets, despite not parking in the spot indicated by their stickers).
Transportation vehicles are indeed important, but it’s ludicrous to see these vehicles parked in spaces reserved for other cars, despite having their own reserved spots, for which anybody else would be reprimanded should they choose to park in them.
On top of these issues, we now have snow to deal with, and it’s safe to say that the way snow is being handled in relation to parking is less than stellar. While sports fields have been cleared of snow, necessary parking spaces, which were dwindling in numbers to begin with, have been repurposed as receptacles for snow. Why nobody used their brain to determine that snow can be stored on at least one of the fields is a mystery to me—this isn’t rocket science, people, it’s parking.
It’s one thing for students and staff to get screwed over because of snow when the weather conditions make travel to the still-open University a total nightmare, but it’s another issue entirely when, upon one’s dangerous trek to campus, commuters arrive to find that their spots have been taken up by the snow that has been plaguing them since they left the house. It does nothing but add insult to injury, especially when driving around for the equivalent of an entire class period and being forced to look at the pristine Kayo Field, which has less snow on it than some of the parking lots.
It’s no secret that parking is an issue on every college campus, unless you’re attending the Appalachia College of Rednecks, where parking is plentiful because many opt to ride their tractors (or cousins) to school. However, commuters especially should be guaranteed at least a parking space while attending the University, and these spaces most certainly shouldn’t be taken up by unnecessary forces, especially snow, when there are other options that can be pursued. The real question is: how can the administration witness these issues and continue to make such asinine choices? The only reasoning I can come up with is that the severe cold has caused a lack of blood flow to the brain of whoever is making these decisions.
