Parking Not Such A Problem if Students Know Rules

By: Blake Ferguson

Sharyl Escobosa was determined to start her first day of school off on the right foot. She woke up, showered, put on her make-up, packed her backpack and was out the door before 8:30 a.m. even though her first class didn't start until 11.

Escobosa, a 19-year-old senior from Ocala, Fla., majoring in political science, climbed in her black Honda Civic and within minutes entered one of the Y parking lots on the south end of campus and began searching.

After half an hour of circling parking lot after parking lot she gave up. She drove back to her apartment and started walking.

Aggravated by the fact she had to walk, Escobosa arrived to her first class of the semester a few minutes late.

While many students bemoan their perceived parking privations, BYU officials plan to hold fast to policy changes which they believe have improved parking efficiency. Officials also believe the university's parking facilities to be more than sufficient and that students are more concerned with convenience than adequacy.

Students have articulated their frustrations with student parking in a variety of ways, but the biggest complaint is simply that there is a surplus of BYU faculty parking but not enough student spaces. The first part of this claim may have some credence. Between 9 and 10 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006, an informal survey revealed a mere 80 of the 124 faculty 'A' parking spaces along 800 North were filled.

For students, BYU currently provides approximately 17,000 parking spots on and around campus. BYU parking officials believe roughly 7,000 of those slots are vacant at any given time. The majority of student parking spaces, however, are located around the football stadium and the Marriott Center, a 15-20 minute walk from the nearest classroom. However, very few student slots located closer to campus are empty between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Stadium parkers, however, can avoid the walk to and from their cars if they own a $60 UTA BYU bus pass. The UTA 833 bus picks up riders from these remote parking lots every hour on its way to the Wilkinson Center.

Another commonly held grievance among students deals not so much with the availability of student parking, but with the enforcement of BYU parking regulations.

Zach Barney, a 21-year-old sophomore from Lehi, majoring in Russian, owned one of five cars parked outside the stadium one day. Barney was working in the stadium and, although he didn't own a Y permit, felt he was doing no wrong by parking his car in the empty parking lot outside his work.

Barney finished work and returned to his car only to be greeted by a bright green envelope containing a $20 citation.

'It's just overkill,' Barney said. 'The parking police are Nazis.'

In a published statement, BYU police defend their enforcement: 'University traffic and parking regulations are enacted to provide a safe and orderly environment for pedestrians and vehicles. The University adopts traffic and parking regulations upon approval of the Traffic Committee, which is composed of students, faculty and staff representatives of the campus community.'

Typically, the Traffic Committee determines all actions and alterations of parking regulations and enforcement, which are then either vetoed or ratified by the university presidency. However, the change from charging a $60 fee for student parking permits to distributing them for free came directly from the presidency.

Changing the permit price has led to one common misunderstanding among BYU students. It is, in fact, only the first of a number of apparent myths about student parking.

Myth: Offering free parking permits has resulted in more students driving to campus and increased congestion in parking lots.

Truth: There were approximately 3,300 fewer student permits issued after the change in price than when there was a $60 fee. In addition, BYU police issued roughly 900 fewer parking citations between September and November of 2006 than were issued in the same months of 2005.

Myth: Citations don't really matter; they result in little more harm than a bunch of fines.

Truth: If a single person receives seven citations in a twelve-month period, that person will be 'banned' from parking on campus property.

Myth: When I get a citation, all I can do is pay the fine; there is no way to fight 'Big Brother.'

Truth: Within the first 14 days of the citation's issuance an individual has the right to appeal the citation. Appeals can be made to the university traffic office either by mail or in person, but never by phone.

Myth: Students can park wherever they want on Sundays without fear of being ticketed.

Truth: While enforcement is less stringent on Sundays, citations are nevertheless issued in an effort to maintain emergency access to all buildings. Sunday citations are usually issued for parking out of a stall, in a coned area, on the sidewalk or lawn, on a red curb or in a stall designated as a disability or service stall.

BYU Parking Office manager Lt. Greg Barber, constantly facing disgruntled student motorists, believes he knows one reason for the general trend of students' disapproval with BYU's parking policy. Barber said he feels many BYU students possess an unwarranted feeling of entitlement; they believe the university is somehow obligated to provide them with not only adequate, but convenient parking locations.

'What is it that creates in the mind of any individual the notion that somehow the university has a responsibility to provide, not just parking, but parking to meet that individual's daily whims as to where they feel that they need to park?' Barber said. 'How can the university adjust to changes in schedules on a daily basis?'

Barber also mentioned that BYU has to balance the responsibility of providing parking with its responsibility to provide the university with green space, service and emergency vehicle access, disability access and other obligations.

'The university is a walking campus,' Barber said, 'Hence, parking is accommodated on the fringes of the campus. The grounds crew makes this place gorgeous; take your time and appreciate it.'

Nevertheless, students continue to fight for the closest parking spots and many try to get by with bending parking rules.

One Sunday, Barber responded to a report that a girl who had been seriously injured on campus. As Barber assisted carrying the girl to an ambulance on a stretcher he literally had to walk over the top of a vehicle that had been parked, blocking the emergency exit of the building.

In spite of the apparent progress that BYU parking has made, some students remain displeased. Students have even proposed changes to the current parking system such as a free on-campus shuttle service like that of the University of Utah, constructing elevated parking over existing lots, and even jacking up the price of student permits to reduce demand for existing slots.

In response to changes that many students feel are needed, President Samuelson made it clear in a Q & A session on Nov. 16, 2006, that student parking space is ample and that no changes are planned for the near future.

But wary students are keeping a watchful eye on the approaching April 30, 2007, when students will be required to live within a two-mile radius of campus. Many students wonder what effect the requirement will have on parking.

The close resident proximity will have little affect on students like Escobosa, who currently lives just seven blocks from campus and drives herself to school.