During the morning hours at Pierce College, students commute to campus and anxiously look for a parking spots, eager to get to class on time.
Though the stress of parking eases throughout the day, it is a consistent issue that students still keep in the back of their minds during their time at Pierce.
The Business Office needs to reinstate restricted parking passes at the $20 rate, which is the current cost for fall parking permits at Valley College and Los Angeles City College.
Pierce offers one kind of parking pass in the business office – preferred. Although Peirce offers daily parking for $3 and 30-minute parking passes for $1, there isn’t an option for a regular or restricted pass, so all students are fighting daily for the same limited spots.
The Pierce College Sheriff’s Department website says that “the responsibility of finding a legal parking space rests with the motor vehicle operator.” Often it can take more than 30 minutes to find a legal parking space on the 470-acre campus.
For a more effective parking experience, the Pierce Business Office, where parking permits are sold, should begin to offer both preferred and non-preferred permits.
Preferred passes will cost students more and will be accepted in all lots, but have priority in Parking Lots 1 and 7, which will not be accessible to cars with regular passes.
“Parking Lot 7, the largest lot, offers easy entrance and exit routes,” according to the Pierce website.
According to the Pierce online page titled, “Map and Phone Directory,” ASO preferred parking passes cost $27, which includes the $7 dollar ASO fee necessary to acquire preferred parking.
Though the website also notes a cheaper restricted parking pass for $20, the Business Office no longer distributes these passes, and the only option available to students is preferred parking.
Students who qualify for disabled parking, should automatically gain a preferred parking pass for $20, because disabled spots will be in preferred lots.
Anyone parking in a Pierce College lot without a parking pass is susceptible to a $30-parking ticket fee, which, if unpaid, will accumulate a larger fee.
According to the Pierce College website, all student fees must be paid before a parking pass is acquired.
Though students may see a parking pass as a waste of their money, the cost of semester-long passes are refundable.
“The parking permit must be returned at the time the refund is requested,” according to the Pierce website. “No refunds are allowed on day permits.”
If a student cannot afford preferred parking, but is worried for their safety, they may request an escort from a sheriff’s deputy.
“When desiring an escort, either come by the station, or call 818-719-6450,” said the Pierce College Sheriff’s Department website. “Requests will be completed as quickly as possible based on priority, available personnel and completion of emergency calls.”
