If TCC builds it, students will come.
Since TR Campus opened two years ago, students have flocked to the campus.
And as with all TCC campuses, parking is a problem. A big one.
The best parking spots are in the parking garage. Second-best parking is in a lot about a 10-minute walk away.
Before, the parking garage filled early and stayed busy.
But now, the traffic is even worse.
TR Campus shares the garage with Radio Shack, and students can park only on the third and fourth floors. Granted, the garage was already built when TCC bought the building. The campus had to make do with what was there.
But the new TR East Campus just opened with only 148 spaces for students to park. If those spots are filled, students must park at the main TR Campus, which is already bursting at the seams, and then walk to class.
Why give students another headache? TCC should have known enrollment would grow on the main campus and explode with the opening of the new campus.
The problem is not that students are lazy and don’t want to walk. The problem is students struggling to get to class on time because of poor planning by TCC officials.
Many students take classes on more than one campus. Those who have later classes must battle afternoon traffic and still get to class on time. Students who get in after 9 a.m. when the garage fills up must park in the TR overflow lot and spend another 10 minutes walking.
When TR East Campus students have to walk from the overflow lot, it takes them a lot longer than 10 minutes.
If the weather is bad, that long walk could be unpleasant or dangerous. Rain, sleet and ice can pose major health or traction risks.
To help solve the parking garage problem, TR started stamping parking passes. Starting this semester, students need a TRC stamp verifying they have classes on TR to park in the garage.
The parking stamp is understandable for the students who could be taking advantage of the garage as a way to park free while attending to other business downtown. Eliminating these people means more spots for students attending class.
TCC should have known parking would be a problem. Everyone else knew it was only a matter of time. The district should have simply planned more parking when it designed the new building.
Hopefully, TCC can learn from this mistake and plan better for the future.
