Parking isn’t so bad
COMMENTARY
Josh Deitz

There are three very special binders sitting in the TCU library. They are easy to find, open to everyone and just happen to contain the solution to the parking problem. This little collection documents the TCU Master Plan, a comprehensive look at the future of our university.

It is tempting to think that the administration is simply ignoring student complaints about parking, but this is far from the truth. A glimpse at the Master Plan shows that the school’s leaders are just as concerned with close, abundant parking as students. Between underground lots and parking structures, the Master Plan calls for a complete overhaul of the campus parking arrangement.

Unfortunately, parking competes with a number of important construction plans in the university’s budget. When it comes down to it, refitting classrooms, renovating the Rickel Building and constructing a baseball field, among other things, have to take precedence over saving students a 10-minute walk. With the Tucker Technology Center and the new Sarah and Steve Smith Entrepreneurs Hall lacking endowments, it may be awhile before TCU is able to tackle the parking problem.

In the meantime, everyone involved simply needs to deal with the problem and plan around it. The answer is not opening up all parking lots to students. Professors and administrators deserve their spots and should not be harassed about them like they were by some columnists recently in the Skiff.

There are realistic answers, of course, but they are nothing new to most students. The most obvious solution is to bite the bullet, park near the stadium and walk. The campus is, at most, a 15-minute walk from one side to another. Or students can hook up with roommates or friends to carpool a few days a week. More ideally, don’t drive to school at all. The Fort Worth public transportation system is far from perfect, but taking the bus means not having to park.

Students should not be the only ones making concessions, however. Neighbors of TCU should halt their efforts to restrict on-street parking. Having students around comes with living near a university, and TCU students seem to do a pretty good job of not causing trouble.

In the spirit of compromise, perhaps the best arrangement would be to open up half of the street to parking and close whichever side of the street has fire hydrants. To complete this arrangement, some of the streets closer to school could be opened up in a similar fashion to compensate for the spaces lost.

I do have to admit some bias. Before transferring to TCU, I went to school in Toronto for three years. Parking at York University meant paying more than $1,000 for the year, circling for half an hour to find a spot and walking 20 minutes in the snow to get to classes. (Uphill! Both ways!) By comparison, TCU is a cakewalk.

Of course, the real answers are in the Master Plan. Give it a look.

Josh Deitz is a junior political science major from Atlanta. He can be reached at (j.m.deitz@tcu.edu).