Driving to campus is supposed to be a time-saving and convenient transportation option for students. Although Downtown Moscow is a pedestrian-friendly area, when tasked with deciding whether or not to walk or drive for errands, it is highly unlikely one would choose to walk.
Driving is supposed to make life easier.
Yet students seeking this convenience on their commute to campus are likely to be sorely disappointed. Parking on the University of Idaho campus is brutally limited, leaving students circling the various lots hoping to find a spot. The daily life of a college student is busy on the low end, non-stop on the high end — circling a parking lot hoping to hit the parking spot lottery is not a gamble students can afford to take.
While some forego driving altogether to avoid the hassle, others simply chose to find other places to park. Throughout the fall, students began to create their own parking lots, even at the expense of the seemingly unclaimed property and others who walk through the area.
A gravel lot off Sixth Street behind Patty’s Mexican Kitchen and Catering turned into an overcrowded parking swap as students flocked to the free parking steps away from campus.
What once was a gravel lot heavily lined by tall grasses turned into a muddy swamp as students drove onto it at all angles, slicking up the surrounding walkways many use to cross on to campus.
The properties were recently reclaimed, physically barring students from parking on the lots. Once again, many students were left without an affordable option for parking.
It is a clear and frustrating problem to those who rely on their car to get to class or to work on the UI campus.
It is not one with an easy solution, but it is one that needs to be solved — and fast.
Not unlike any other university, UI has a number of areas across campus it greatly needs to invest in. But it must invest in a parking solution for students and faculty.
The administration wants to continue to expand the student body, which to some may just sound like more cars on campus without a home. If UI wants to continue to bring in more students and keep the ones it has, make it easier for them — not harder.
Expanding the UI campus to contain more parking makes little sense. The cheapest and largest lots for students are already relatively removed from campus.
Building up where parking already exists may be the only solution. While not inherently simple, it would at least provide an option for those who may need it most.
Sometimes a student’s day comes down to something as simple as knowing they can easily park on their own campus.
— Editorial Board