Monday, October 27, 1997
Campus transportation woes pile up
SERVICES: Shortage of parking, overcrowded bus routes force
students to seek alternatives
By Mason Stockstill
Daily Bruin Contributor
"Finding another way to UCLA," as Parking Services exhorts, may
be harder than it sounds.
As demand for transportation continues to grow, student leaders
are calling for a potential solution to the campus’ parking woes –
while administrators have cut bus services.
Two weeks ago, a memo from Parking and Commuter Services went
out to deans and department chairs, urging them to contact the
Special Event Parking Division far in advance of any events that
bring a large number of visitors to campus.
The document also warned that parking space on campus is
severely limited, and even the number of student permits has
reached its maximum.
"The waiting list for parking permits is over 3,500 students,"
the memo said.
The cause of this shortage of parking permits is a familiar one
for UCLA students: rampant construction.
According to the memo, 500 parking spaces have been temporarily
lost because of construction projects during Fall Quarter.
In addition to the spaces that were temporarily lost because of
construction, Lot 14 has been removed from UCLA’s parking supply,
making parking just that much harder to find.
Also concerned with the situation for commuters is Graduate
Students’ Association President Andrew Westall, who met with
Parking Services Director Mark Stocki and Associate Vice Chancellor
of Business Enterprises Sam Morabito to discuss the parking
situation and potential solutions.
"Because UCLA is becoming less and less of a commuter campus, it
is beginning to make more sense for students to be less dependent
on their cars," Westall said.
"We have to face the reality that, in the near future, we will
be at our total capacity for parking spaces," he continued.
This quarter, Parking and Transportation Services completely cut
the Limited bus route without any public notification. Parking
officials would not return calls from Bruin reporters to explain
why.
So Westall proposed that Parking and Commuter Services strike up
a deal with the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus and other local
public-transportation agencies to offer a way for students to ride
the bus for free on a designated route to campus.
Under this proposal, students would use their BruinCard as a bus
pass, and the cost of using public transportation would be covered
by student fees.
"It’s possible that we could see a referendum to pay for this,
but I wouldn’t ask for any more than two dollars (per student),"
Westall said. "Our fees are high enough as it is."
This plan is similar to programs instituted at UC Santa Cruz and
UC Berkeley.
Commuting students who do manage to get a parking space usually
find themselves parking in Lot 32, south of campus but within
walking distance or, if time is short, a bus ride away.
However, since the cancellation of the Limited bus to campus,
the shuttle service has been perpetually crowded in the morning,
creating huge lines and long waits just to get a ride to Ackerman
Union.
"The wait is just terrible," said Jasmine Lee, a third-year
psychology student who has begun circulating a petition among
fellow bus riders to try and get the Limited bus service
re-established.
"A lot of students moved off-campus because they thought that
there would be enough transportation to get to campus," Lee
said.
"Now that the Limited has been canceled, the vans are always
very crowded, and often students have to wait for the second or
third bus," before they get a ride, she added.
Lee presented her petition to Chancellor Carnesale during his
office hours last week, in hopes of garnering some attention to her
cause.
So far, Parking and Commuter Services has yet to reinstate the
Limited bus service, but, Westall said, they are optimistic about
an alternative plan.
"That they realize as well as we do that something needs to be
done," he said.
INGA DOROSZ
Kristen Lee, a senior at UCLA, looks out the window of the
shuttle which takes students from Lot 32 to the UCLA campus. The
buses are often crowded and the Limited route has been
cancelled.