Viewpoint by Sarah McVean/photo editor
Going back to school from winter break is never easy.
But what makes it even worse is when you arrive at school and no parking is available.
All TCC campuses are having traffic troubles.
On NE Campus, construction of a new loop road has shut off the east side of campus, eliminating hundreds of parking spaces. Officers are directing traffic to park at NRH2O, a water park on the other side of a busy highway from the campus, to accommodate for the fewer on-campus spaces.
South Campus had overflowing traffic as well. When the parking lots were full, students had to park across the street at Clark Stadium.
NW Campus students experienced extremely long lines in the turning lane to enter the campus. Too many cars with students arriving is a normal reassurance for that campus, though, since it indicates greater enrollments. Perhaps, the city should make that a double turn lane to help traffic move along faster.
Also, NW had to open up an unpaved lot for the overflow parking.
Soon TCC will be doing more promotions to encourage more students to attend, so if our college is going to do nothing but grow, then the school needs to make it more comfortable to accommodate all students.
I have to leave my house 30 minutes earlier than normal so when I get to school, I won’t have to walk 10 minutes to get to my class.
These parking problems usually die down throughout the semester, but on the most stressful days, like the first week of school, they always seem to be the worst.
No one likes to have to park out in Egypt, and most students are on tight schedules and are always having to rush to class. So getting to school five minutes before class starts then literally having to run to class is not a good way to start anyone’s day.
Let’s hope for sunny days for our long walks to class until the district gets the parking situation under control.
