Traffic has long been a problem at our University. The lack of space has been even more self-evident with the recent influx of more than 3,000 students from the New Orleans area affected by Hurricane Katrina.
To fend off traffic problems, Student Government, in connection with the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation, has created a carpool lot outside CEBA. We respect innovation and commend SG for their approach, but we believe they were too hasty in implementing their idea – with far too few students having the knowledge ahead of time to take advantage of it.
One suggestion for solving the problem, while maintaining the original vision of the proposal, is to replace the general carpool lot, which too few students have taken advantage of, by making carpool spaces out of a few choice front spots in selected commuter lots.
This idea will free space in the CEBA lot for students driving themselves, while, at the same time, expanding the area that students who carpool are able to park in.
Enforcement will lie with the parking employees. This, we believe, will not prove to be difficult. Using those employees already guarding the carpool lot and dispersing them around campus, along with those already there, will help move acceptance of this proposal forward in an effort to unclog our congested streets.
We know this idea will be met with some disapproval, both by the original architects of the current parking lot idea and from students who are troubled to see empty spots when they drive by alone in their cars. Still, we believe a revised plan is in the best interest of students who would prefer not to sit in the slow moving mess of traffic which plagues our campus’ streets.
In the interests of fairness to all, we hope that SG will re-think its original carpool lot plan and seek input from the community on alternative modes of freeing our cluttered parking lots.