Editorial: Parking problems ahead
Issues in store for school parking changes

March 22, 2006

In the parking offices of this august institution we call our own, there brews a plan that all members of the La Salle community would do well to pay attention. As reported on Page 1 of this issue of the Collegian, the La Salle administration has approved a plan that would result in the Good Shepherd lot being reduced from 450 spaces to 225. A supermarket/commerce center would occupy the newly ceded land. On the surface, this appears to be an innocuous enough move, but when examined more closely, it is necessary to highlight some issues on behalf of the La Salle student body.

La Salle’s parking situation is already less than stellar. The school uses a parking permit system that grants the right to use a space, but makes no guarantee of the availability of a space to use. A quick walk around the Good Shepherd Lot will show that many who park there have permits for other pay lots. Some cars on the streets have permits for the Hayman lot, while many lots on South Campus are filled to capacity. These parking problems are not unique to our fair campus—we merely cite these examples to illustrate that prior to the slashing of 225 parking spaces, there exists an already all-too-ubiquitous parking shortage. La Salle cannot lose more parking lest it truly begin to impinge upon the needs of the student body.

It is well known to the residents and commuters that La Salle is a veritable beehive of four by fours, sedans, town cars, junkers and other automobiles at move in and move out days. Any student who has been lucky enough to walk at graduation has had to face the puzzling problems of where their grandparents, parents or other relatives will park so that they might easily get to McCarthy Stadium for the momentous occasion. It is from this already headache-inducing shortage of parking solutions that La Salle wishes to remove 225 much-needed spots.

The University attempts to account for this problem by announcing that the next class of freshmen, and all subsequent incoming classes, will not have resident parking rights. Students choosing to buy the right to use a bed in any of La Salle’s residence halls will be unable to park their cars in any of La Salle’s lots as long as they maintain freshman status. This right had previously been unique to La Salle amongst the other schools in and around the Philadelphia area. While other schools long ago declared the restriction of freshman parking a necessity, our school has granted its other Explorers the luxury of keeping their chariots near to them. This inculcates a special sense of community amongst the new students in granting them a right denied to students across the metropolitan area. It gives the Lasallian experience a special feel from the very beginning of our academic careers. As small a difference as it may seem, it is a draw that makes La Salle different, special, and inviting. Either way, banning freshman from parking on campus will not account for the crunch that will ensue at the aforementioned high-traffic periods: move in and move out days as well as commencement. We simply do not have the space.

Unfortunately, the short-sightedness of this plan does not stop at inconveniencing current students and cheating the incoming class of a rather lush benefit. The supermarket and other businesses opening on the ground that was once part of our campus will be privately owned, privately staffed, privately guarded and perhaps even fenced off from the Lasallian remainder of the lot. Shoppers coming to the supermarket will then bring extra congestion to an area already congested enough throughout the day.

La Salle’s reputation for community service is not unfounded. We have a rich legacy and commitment to working well within our neighborhood and the Philadelphian community at large. The school’s intentions are to be commended, but we should not impoverish ourselves in our zeal to help others. We ought not to forget the issues within by focusing on the issues without.

Indeed, the benefits of the commerce center to the Germantown, Olney and Ogontz communities is not in question. What must be minded is the detriment to the Lasallian community intrinsic to the plan to slash parking spots. The decrease in parking is an unacceptable loss, so we urge the administration to construct plans to be implemented along with the transference of land this upcoming academic year. Dennis Graeber, the Associate Director of Security and Safety, disclosed that the administration is considering paving over the softball field to compensate for the parking. However, this too seems to be unnecesarily detrimental to the needs of the Lasallian community.

We suggest building a parking facility on the unused plot of land behind the Com Center bordering Ogontz Avenue. This course of action is beneficial to all involved in the original plan. The surrounding community would benefit from the commerce center while the Lasallian student body would gain parking instead of losing it for the first time in recent history.

Together and by association, we can find a mutually beneficial plan that falls in line with the Lasallian dedication to service. Together and by association, a workable solution can be found, but the parking situation must be addressed through the addition rather than subtraction of spaces.