I think that we can all agree that the parking situation has its flaws. I am fed up. I paid for a permit to park in Valentine. Sometimes, as many of you know, the lot is extremely crowded and there are no spots left. At this time, many are forced to park in the grass or even make their own spots. Now, there are no “no parking zone” signs in this lot, besides the ones beside the basement. I was forced to park beside a car in which there was not a clear spot due to overcrowding. I received a ticket. Do you know what the parking office suggested I do in the future? I am supposed to park in the lot next door or the one across the street. And yet, what do you think would have happened if I had done this? Yep, you guessed it. . . a ticket. The bottom line is that, if my lot is crowded due to a parking office error, then I will be forced to pay a ticket. Regardless of this, parking spaces are expensive and I did not pay this money so that I could park next door to my own lot. The parking office has oversold parking spaces because this school wants extra money. When this happens, the people who distribute the tickets need to show more understanding regarding their distribution. The parking office should rethink their policy regarding the selling of parking permits. They should not sell more permits than there are spaces and if they do, the students should not be penalized.
Cindy Allen, seniorExt. 4-0040ca002k@mail.rochester.edu