Show Now Nowhere where ere to Park The parking problem is is getting worse What Wha will help at this point By Colleen Tanner Staff Writer REDWOOD Students at the Salt Lake Community College Redwood Campus cant can't find anywhere to park The spring 2002 semester began Monday January Students anticipating ing the new semester found themselves in a frenzy when they pulled into the campus parking lot and tried to find parking slots If I l get to school after nine I cant can't find a place to park said Steve Bryner an Automotive Technology major I hate driving driving driving ing around and around looking for a spot and finally parking in ina ina a red zone The is facing the same growing pains as other major state institutions According toI to toI I the Department of Public I Information the has the second largest enrollment of any gny school in the Utah System of Higher Education School records show an all campus student student student stu stu- dent head count of as of Friday January lith 11 th This number number number num num- ber is expected to rise to a final students by the end of the drop add period The student q r fY fYi i L 4 r L. L The Fhe population for Salt Lake Community College is growing but the parking lot tot is not Photo by Carrie Crawford population is on the rise Last year at this time the student- student body totaled This shows a 24 percent increase over last spring The population may be grow grow- ing but the parking lot is not The redwood campus parking lot houses 2910 student-parking student slots Last semester the lot grew temporarily when the Parking Manager Shane Crabtree the soccer field as a relief zone Due in part to the weather this tactic is not plausible for the spring semester Student population population population lation increases parking problems problems problems lems PARKING continued continued- See PARKING on page 2 Mainstream students are not the only ones finding it difficult to get to class The parking lot holds 73 slots for handicap students faculty and staff Despite the cramped space ten handicapped slots at atthe atthe atthe the rear of the Administration Building have been fenced off because of construction We monitored the parking lot at various times last semester to find a spot for a construction staging area said Crabtree The area we chose was never full The ten eliminated slots are arenow arenow arenow now in demand by disabled stu stu- dents They need to park in certain certain certain tain areas arcas for both closeness and space Those who use wheelchairs wheelchairs wheelchairs wheel wheel- chairs must have the clearance to remove their chairs from their cars Parking in a regular slot is just not possible for these students staff members Space is crucial said Linda Allington a disabled member of the Disability Resource Center They tell us we can park in the metered areas but there isn't enough room Students and administrators both share the concern of parking parking parking park park- ing space But foremost in the Parking Service Department is safety This year two accidents accidents accidents acci acci- dents have bean reported One took place on the Millcreek campus and the other on the Redwood campus While the need for parking spaces pushes students to park in risky areas such as red zones and crosswalks the administration has begun searching for solutions He and his staff have begun the process of finding both long- long term and term short-term solutions for the parking shortage term Long ideas include buying or leasing an offsite off offsite offsite site lot and shuttling students to the campus Another possibility would be building an underground underground underground under under- ground parking complex These ideas might solve the parking problem but they would require a possible increase in parking fees The immediate term short solution is leniency Parking services intend to give only warning tickets during the first three weeks of the semester The exceptions to this policy are those causing safety hazards or those without valid parking passes |