Spring Break
Editorial: Common sense should be used in late night parking
Issue date: 4/7/05 Section: Editorial/Opinion
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04/07/05 - Chances are you have parked illegally if you are a student with a car at the University of Rhode Island. Maybe you were running late and parked in the Chafee lot, or maybe you twisted your ankle the previous night playing floor hockey and did not want to walk up the hill.
It is a minor crime most people have committed, and some of us have paid the price for it in the form of a $40 or $80 ticket.
However, problems arise when common sense is seemingly overlooked regarding the parking situation. A letter by Heather Shannon in last week's Cigar detailed the main issue with late night parking - lack of safety.
The university has attempted to address safety through the construction of blue lights and the SafeRide program. The campus continues to become safer as more cameras and forms of public transportation are also added.
This is what makes the ticketing of cars in faculty lots after 5 p.m. such a disheartening blow. The vast majority of faculty and staff have completed work by 5 p.m., and the spots lay dormant. But even if a lot is completely empty and will not have any cars parked in it until 5 a.m. the following morning, you are still at risk for a ticket.
Has the campus gotten safer at night? Yes. Does this mean people are comfortable walking a quarter of a mile in the dark by themselves? No.
The situation can be worse on certain days. It is no secret that many on-campus students go to the clubs on Thursday nights. You can't argue with this, because you can hear obviously drunk students shouting as they walk down Butterfield Road and beat on dorm room doors any time between 12 and 3 a.m. on Thursdays.
In a charged atmosphere like this, is it any surprise some student workers might not want to walk back to the Burnside lot for their cars?
A person could use SafeRide in this circumstance, but this puts an unneeded strain upon their resources. It would be just as easy to park in the faculty lot and it would save a SafeRide trip for someone who might really need it.
At the Cigar, we often work until two or three in the morning, and we sympathize with the student workers at the Academic Enhancement Center and other places who must either risk a ticket or walk back to their cars every night. It is an unfortunate circumstance that could be avoided by exercising some common sense when it comes to ticketing.
It is a minor crime most people have committed, and some of us have paid the price for it in the form of a $40 or $80 ticket.
However, problems arise when common sense is seemingly overlooked regarding the parking situation. A letter by Heather Shannon in last week's Cigar detailed the main issue with late night parking - lack of safety.
The university has attempted to address safety through the construction of blue lights and the SafeRide program. The campus continues to become safer as more cameras and forms of public transportation are also added.
This is what makes the ticketing of cars in faculty lots after 5 p.m. such a disheartening blow. The vast majority of faculty and staff have completed work by 5 p.m., and the spots lay dormant. But even if a lot is completely empty and will not have any cars parked in it until 5 a.m. the following morning, you are still at risk for a ticket.
Has the campus gotten safer at night? Yes. Does this mean people are comfortable walking a quarter of a mile in the dark by themselves? No.
The situation can be worse on certain days. It is no secret that many on-campus students go to the clubs on Thursday nights. You can't argue with this, because you can hear obviously drunk students shouting as they walk down Butterfield Road and beat on dorm room doors any time between 12 and 3 a.m. on Thursdays.
In a charged atmosphere like this, is it any surprise some student workers might not want to walk back to the Burnside lot for their cars?
A person could use SafeRide in this circumstance, but this puts an unneeded strain upon their resources. It would be just as easy to park in the faculty lot and it would save a SafeRide trip for someone who might really need it.
At the Cigar, we often work until two or three in the morning, and we sympathize with the student workers at the Academic Enhancement Center and other places who must either risk a ticket or walk back to their cars every night. It is an unfortunate circumstance that could be avoided by exercising some common sense when it comes to ticketing.
