Finding a place to park your vehicle when commuting to Arizona State University’s North Campus location during the day could very well turn into a challenge during the hours of 6 a.m. - 7 p.m. due to the fact parking is restricted to a limited number of parking garages, parking lots and metered parking spaces available to the public. While parking passes are available, students find this very frustrating due to the cost factor as they are already paying a high price for their education. A student from the University has expressed his point on parking at A.S.U. by saying “Parking on campus is terrible. It is hard to find anywhere to park that isn't free and if you don't want to pay then you have to take a bus that takes a while to get in between campuses or a light rail that I do not feel very safe on.” This particular student gave the parking options on the Campus a C- at best.
Aside from the fact that daytime passes are available there remains a lack of suitable places for the public to park during this time frame. While free parking is available to the public after 7 p.m. - 7 a.m. this does little to help the majority of A.S.U. North Campus students. Ideally students need more choices for free parking around campus as well as more locations from which to choose during the daytime hours.
Through my research I have concluded that students in particular should be presented with a variety of toll free parking for their motor vehicles. There are many stories of small-privatized parking lots in which students park, and end unsatisfied; or worse with damage to their vehicles. Situations like that of an A.S.U. student who had his tire punctured leaving a parking lot stated that, “The parking is expensive if you do not have a pass. I parked in a lot operated by a student. I left to attend class and came back two hours later to pay and leave. He was not there, I ended up waiting 40 minutes for him to return and when he finally did I paid and he lifted the thing blocking my exit. He forgot to put down the punctures that flatten tires and ended up putting a hole in one of mine.” It is instances like this, that A.S.U. should implement a regulated, multileveled, toll free, parking structure from the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. This structure would be another plus for A.S.U. students along with providing a safe and suitable area for their vehicles to be stored. I feel the Northern Campus of A.S.U would benefit greatly from having a wide selection of free vehicle parking; both for students and the public.
To support my position that A.S.U. North Campus needs free parking during the daytime hours I have chosen to evaluate the surrounding parking options on the North Campus of Arizona State University by putting together a selected criteria regarding cost to park, the time limit on parking, when parking is available, and the distance to classrooms. When evaluating the chosen parking options I will award a number out of five points total for the reviewed parking area; five representing excellence on fair pricing and so on, and one representing, expensive parking, unfair time limits, distance from classrooms and so on.
Choosing to evaluate the parking options based on parking cost, time limits, availability and distance from classes is essential to support my claim that parking on campus is expensive and the amount of daytime free parking readily available is close to nonexistent. In evaluating these parking options I will implement a sliding scale system based on “One to Five”; “Five” being the best score possible representing free parking and “One” representing expensive parking.
Limited parking times, such as metered parking, can be a factor in the number of courses students who commute to campus can attend and the distance from classes can be excessive. When evaluating these parking options I will again implement a sliding scale system based on “One to Five” with “Five” representing parking available for extended time limits and “One” indicating very limited parking times.
Most parking garages and lots only have a select time frame for public parking and these garages and parking lots, which are scattered around the North Campus, are only available through parking passes and during daytime hours. For the category of when daytime parking is available I will again use a sliding scale system based on “One to Five” with “Five representing parking that is open to the public and free of charge and “One” having no public parking. A number in-between “One and Five” would represent parking is offered to the public, but only at certain times of day.
The proximity to the classrooms is essential for students to reach their classrooms on time as well as to ensure the closest distance for students who walk to class when Phoenix temperatures are in excess of 100 degrees. When a parking option is given a “Five” it will represent the garage being close to campus. A “One” out of “Five” will represent the parking space is far from campus and a second means of transportation should be brought such as a bike, scooter, or skateboard.
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