I write with what I think the vast majority of the universities students and faculty will consider a reasonable idea: why not build a parking structure similar to the one the institute now has somewhere on or near campus? A new parking facility would be an investment for this commuter campus. I would be extremely surprised if someone had a legitimate argument against a structure considering one like it already exists as part of the “non-campus campus” we call institute. In my opinion the reason we have yet to see this kind of arrangement is two fold; First, no major donor wants to have their name on a parking structure, they want their money to go to a new arts or business building. Second, the university profits from the status quo wherein there is simply no guarantee for parking regardless of the amount of money spent on a parking pass. The ability for parking services to increase pricing on an annual basis while continually overselling the number of passes to actual spaces is a revenue generating operation. When faced with missing a key test or eating a ten dollar parking ticket, parking services can bank on the fact that you will violate regulations and pay a ticketing officers wage for 2 hours. Maybe, like all other issues pertaining to bureaucracies, there simply needs to be enough of an outcry for a change to occur.
~Kim Bowman Jr.Gender Studies/Political Science Class of 2006