Pierce College should have daily parking permit dispensers in all lots, not just on four of the eight it currently has.
Finding parking quickly on campus is a rare, but amazing feeling.
But, for some students who don’t have semester parking passes, finding a daily parking permit dispenser is one more obstacle they must overcome before being able to go about their day on campus.
The lack of permit dispensers on lots 3, 4, 5 and 6 East causes a huge inconvenience to those who do not have a semester parking pass, and don’t always have the time to go to another lot to purchase a daily permit. This leaves the owner of the vehicle at risk of getting a $30 citation from campus parking enforcers.
According to Associate Vice President of Administrative Services Larry Kraus, it costs $15,000 to install a daily meter on campus. He states that the plan is to place a dispenser in lots 5 and 6 East, the two most frequently used lots that will need them the most, but he does not have the budget to move forward with this project.
A daily permit costs $2 and there are currently six dispensers spread out between four lots that generate an average of $60,000 per year. With those figures, installing two more could end up paying for itself within three years. This would be much more effective compared to many of the other campus development projects that remain incomplete.
The Pierce College Council and Academic Senate are frequently developing task forces to address campus issues. This issue should be brought forward at one of these meetings, because there could be a simple solution to this issue.
Members of the community who visit the college to attend events at the Temporary Performing Arts Complex would benefit from this service to prevent confusion about the location of the dispensers.
With the rising cost of tuition from $36 a semester to $46 (effective this summer), students have enough budgetary issues they need to balance out without having worry about hefty fines that could be easily avoided with the installation of daily parking dispensers.
