In the first part of this blog post I described the issue of scooter parking on the University of Florida campus and in this post I will further observe the opportunity that comes through this dilemma. In exploring more about the topic I was able to speak to five separate individuals whom I felt would be on the same page as me on the issue yet expressed different, unexpected views. The first person I spoke to was a friend Ryan who was in his fifth year taking classes and using his scooter here at UF. I asked him how he felt about the parking on campus and he told me he almost never had a problem with it. I was confused because most people said otherwise, however he explained that all of his classes were very early so the timing just seemed to work out. The next person I met was a girl parking her scooter next to Library west named Samantha. I asked how she felt about parking on campus and she explained that she didn't mind or really care because she had Gainesville city parking which allowed her to park on the neighboring city streets and it led to a very short walk to most of her classes. Steve, a good friend of mine that I met in a class last year, Told me he liked how parking was but also admitted that he almost never had to park near the notoriously crowded areas. Michael that approached me in Turlington Plaza about a club brought up scooters so I questioned him about the parking situation. He said that he didn't like it at first but that if you knew all of the hidden, less-popular parking spots then you could get around with a lot of ease. Jess, a freshman at UF, told me that she hated the parking situation when she first arrived but that after a while she started parking a spot that was supposed to be reserved for faculty, yet it hasn't been a problem yet and made things much easier.
WHO: The people that seem to have the problem with scooter parking seem to be University of Florida students that ride their scooters onto the campus, yet some of those people have found ways to get around the issue, whether it's through finding parking in hidden spots or breaking University parking rules.
WHAT: The need for more parking seems to differ based on the times the individuals need to park along with how willing they are to find hidden or illegitimate parking spots.
WHY: I believe that some of the outsiders were willing to risk parking in parking spots that students weren't supposed to park in. Along with that some just happened to have knowledge of the campus and parking spots most students wouldn't know about.
Inside the Boundary
Average students that ride their scooters to popular parts of campus at normal hours can't find parking spots due to a lack of spaces.
Outside the Boundary
Students with scooters that have knowledge of hidden parking spaces, don't care for consequences of parking in prohibited parking spaces, or go on campus at unusual hours are able to find parking spaces.
Rob,
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough one because I think students will do anything to find free parking, and they will find loopholes. I think the need is there but I think many of these students have gotten used to the fact that parking is bad so they just accept it. I think many of the people you interviewed if pressed a little more would probably admit that parking closer or having more parking spots would definitely be more convenient. They have just grown accustomed to how it is that they think there is no solution. So maybe a good question to ask them is if you could park closer would it benefit you? or how would your day be if you could park close to classes at anytime of the day?
hope that helps
Lucas
I am from Charleston, SC where parking is a huge issue for all people but even worse for the students. They have very limited parking for students and they are required to buy these passes early before the semester starts because of how quick they sell. Not to mention, these are very expensive spots. You will see a lot of illegal parking because of this so you are right there are unmet needs for parking on a lot of college campuses that need to be looked at.
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