As a student who lives off-campus and in a neighborhood that is about a twenty-minute walk, my car is an integral part of my life here in Keene. Being a student who has lived off-campus in previous years, I am no stranger to the parking problems here at Keene State.
Last year the lot would fill up at about 10 a.m.; this year I have noticed that it is closer to 9 a.m. The former “secret” spots on Adams, Gates, and Elliot streets are now well-known and usually full all day. This has caused students to leave home earlier and battle for a spot for sometimes a half hour.
This week, while waiting for a spot, I found myself surrounded by over half a dozen cars lining up behind me. While pulling into a spot I saw three to four cars hovering close just in case I was not quick enough. Now the problems with parking on campus are more for convenience than anything else, but a problem nonetheless.
The school has taken a significant step towards fixing the problem, but some glaring issues still remain, with little sign that they are even fixable.
The improvement the administration has made is the guard who looks for parking passes on the way into the lot. This has cut down on the amount of cars parked without a sticker and has saved other drivers from having to negotiate with the tow truck taking care of unauthorized vehicles.
This improvement is well received, in my opinion anyway, and does take a significant step towards solving the problem.
Although progress has been made, several problems still remain. The administration has stressed the use of Winchester lot for the past few years in order to solve the issues, but the same problems with that alternative still remain.
The issue of the distance from campus and the time it takes to walk will never cease, but what can be changed is more consistent shuttle stops.
The problems of sporadic and inconsistent stops have been at the heart of the issue with parking on campus for years. More frequent and consistent stops would make parking on Winchester St. more convenient and, in turn, help alleviate the parking problem on campus.
Other problems, such as a lack of parking on campus itself, will continue to be difficult to solve as there is only so much space on campus left to be devoted to parking. The construction on the new technology building is not making things easier.
Although most of these problems have difficult solutions some of them are easily resolved by rearranging schedules.
This problem, as I previously pointed out, is mainly one of convenience, but for the price that students are spending to attend school, it becomes one of far more importance. A solution must be found before the situation gets even worse.
Jordan Posner can be reached at
jposner@ksc.mailcruiser.com
