Opinion
Cyclists lack respect
May 4, 2007
I am not a commuter student, so parking is rarely a problem for me, but another parking issue needs to be addressed. Since the weather has been getting nicer, several students are taking full advantage of the opportunity to drive their motorcycles to campus.
I have absolutely no problem with this, except when the drivers decide to park on the street and take up entire parking spaces students driving trucks or cars could use. I'm not saying students should refrain from driving their motorcycles in favor of an alternate mode of transportation, but they should be more respectful of other commuters.
Before you motorcyclists get all bent out of shape, you should know there are designated spaces right on campus where you can park. There are designated stalls for motorcycles located in A, E, F, G, O and Q lots. That's right - free parking couldn't be any closer to campus.
If you have classes in the Kleinpell Fine Arts building, North Hall or South Hall, park your motorcycle in A lot or Q lot. If you spend the majority of your day in the Agricultural Science building or the Wyman Education building, you could park in G lot behind Hathorn Hall or F lot behind the University Center.
While other students have to purchase permits or feed parking meters to park in these lots, motorcyclists do not. What's upsetting is that many motorcycle stalls are vacant on any given day with cycles parked along Cascade Avenue. On Monday, I noticed a motorcycle parked near Hagestad Hall along Cascade was taking up an entire space while the motorcycle parking spaces in Q lot, less than 100 feet away, sat empty. There is no rhyme or reason as to why this motorist did not make use of the space designated for their vehicle.
What really chaps my ass is when one student vacates a space on the street and a motorcyclist zooms into the spot in front of another commuter who is then forced to park in the metered lot or drive around until another space opens up. I can't even count the number of times acquaintances of mine have arrived late to class or skipped it altogether because they couldn't find a parking space less than seven blocks away from campus. The spaces reserved for motorcycles can in no way, shape or form be considered bad parking spots.
Motorcyclists should be so lucky to have the privilege of free parking and what is more surprising is they don't take advantage of it.
Since most students don't use motorcycles as their primary mode of transportation, the rules and regulations set forth by the UWRF Parking Department may not be common knowledge. I am here to tell everyone that motorcycles can be parked on campus without a permit and without risk of paying a parking fine.
Students who park their motorcycles on the street must realize, on a campus where almost everyone bitches and moans about how stressful it is to find a parking spot near campus, they are just making matters worse.
Jennie Oemig is a student at UW-River Falls.