EDITORIAL – Is there no end to the nightmare of parking at TRU?
(Image: Mel Rothenburger)
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
IT’S GREAT that there’s so much going on at Thompson Rivers University. New buildings are in the works, and news releases regularly trumpet the institution’s latest accomplishments.
So maybe it’s time to finally do something about the horrendous parking problem. I was well aware of it but, recently, I attended an event at the Clocktower Theatre and I swear the parking is worse than ever.
One could wander around that campus for days and never find a place to park. Like Charlie on the MTA, you need somebody to pass you a sandwich as you rumble through in hopes of locating a space.
Parking is free after 5 p.m. but, free where? There’s no indication that any of the hundreds of empty reserved parking spots is available for use.
Between 8 a.m. and 5 in the afternoon, you have to pay. Through the nose. There are general parking spots, economy parking spots, premium spots, gated premium spots, reserved spots, spots for registered guests, spots for faculty and spots for staff. But, of course, you need a permit if you’re a regular visitor, in which case you get a bit of a break on the rate.
And you can get daily permits or metered permits.
Whatever kind of stall, there aren’t enough of any of them. Every once in a while, the university cracks down on drivers who don’t park in designated spaces or don’t have the proper permits, and goes on an enforcement spree.
A couple of years ago, a student started a petition urging that TRU build more parking and make it free for students. You can imagine how far that got. By the way, the petition pointed out that taking the bus just isn’t practical for many.
Instead of more parking, TRU seems intent on building more buildings that take away parking spaces while creating more demand for parking.
Explain the logic in that.
I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.
Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
The book referenced in this article is well worth a read to gain a broader perspective.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/sunday/parking-urban-planning-1.6862522
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Stupid thinking: convert the current parking lot(s) to a structure(s) of maximum height (to code+variance) and look to the future wealth it will generate. The entire area will need this soon. Choose innovative architect(s) and contractor(s) that can build the structure with little or no disruption to current parking, after all the only thing that matters is getting the foundation laid…
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A novel approach would be to use descriptive words to state intent, “5pm+ = No Tow”
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Just park in the “reserved” spots after 5 pm. You won’t get towed.
Students asked for more parking, but the permit solution TRU arrived at was not one brokered with them and was immediately unpopular. Your average student simply doesn’t want to fork out $600 per year. In the first year, the lots stood half empty because many permits were reserved for students. This changed later.
In the name of “sustainability”, TRU built condos on parking lots (which have underground parking), then they encouraged everybody to just take the bus.
Many non-permit lots defeat the convenience of parking on campus and this lead to TRU complaining about the “inconsiderate” parkers who used the TCC, Superstore, or Walmart to park. Since then, the mess has not been resolved simply because they make too much money to change it.
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Thanks, one of the points I was trying to make was that occasional visitors to campus for evening events have no way of knowing that reserved spots are available because there’s no signage to that effect. So, they must assume the reserved spots are reserved 24/7 and subject to towing or ticketing.
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