Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Liz Ward The dilapidated and overcrowded parking garage at C17, UDC's campus. [Click to enlarge]

    At just about any university in the country, you will find students and faculty moving around about their busy day not just on their two feet but in their vehicles.

    Here at the University of the District of Columbia, you will see the very same thing: students rushing to get to class, faculty carrying briefcases, term papers in one hand, a hot cup of Starbucks in the other. You'll even see people driving in and out of the garage, being guided through by traffic enforcement officers. But underneath all of the daily norms there is a huge problem - the parking situation here at UDC is for lack of a better word, atrocious.

    Robert T. Robinson, UDC's Vice President of the Department of Public Safety and Emergency management, said he does his best to make sure that all is well for each and every person on the university campus. "My job is to make sure that everyone is pleased when they set foot onto this university. I make sure that everyone is safe and that they have no complaints when they leave." When asked if he heard complaints from students or faculty, Robinson said, "I receive complaints from students, faculty, and visitors constantly about not only the parking, but about the conditions of the garage itself." It is true that the condition of the garage could be better but a few rusted pipes and potholes will not change the fact that the parking here is "immensely inadequate," explained Robinson.

    With a total of 758 parking spaces available and just under 1000 people driving back to the university everyday, it is clear why there can be difficulty getting in and out of the parking garage. "I try to be here as early as I possibly can so that I can park and get to my classes on time," said one student who wished to remain anonymous. "It's sad that it has had to come to this. Everyone has been fighting for spaces and squeezing in together and on top of one another. Something really needs to change." "It's basically the early bird catches the worm around here," said UDC student Dwayne Bishop. "Twenty-five percent of the parking was in Bldg. 52, but now that it's gone you have to fight for a position," he added.

    Another concern with UDC is the poor lighting in the garage. "There's hardly any lighting in the garage at night. There should be more guards that will watch over everything and everyone both day and night," said Claudia Roundtree, a UDC student. Indeed it seems as though one problem is solved, another problem arises. "These days, more people drive then they did 30 years ago. The population expanded but the parking lot remained the same, just as it was, 30 years ago," said Department of Public Safety and Emergency Vice President Robinson. He added that everyone wants instant gratification but we must all make sacrifices. Robinson suggested, carpooling, biking and metro as alternatives methods to getting to campus. He also added that talks will be underway soon to identify an additional building to facilitate parking.

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