Bad and Better

Bad:

I live about a mile or so from campus. I prefer to drive to school. The drive is fairly short and traffic is minimal. Once I arrive at the parking lot I spend up to thirty minutes trying to find a place to park. And often, after exhausting all normal options I end up parking several blocks away from campus. If I am really pressed for time, I risk having to pay a fine when I park in the “A” lot. For many students at BYU, parking is a serious issue and concern. These students would like to see things change. I feel that there are many ways to help alleviate the parking problem. Charging for permits would be one of many obvious solutions.

Why did BYU ever think it was a good idea to do away with paying for parking permits? The simple laws of supply and demand would set a price for the permits. With a then limited number of permits, parking would be so much easier. Multilevel parking garages would also alleviate some of the strain placed on the existing parking lots. I know that these parking garages are anything but cheap. In fact they would cost millions of dollars. But that is where the income from the sales of parking permits could go. Think about it. With approximately 30,000 students (many of which drive to campus and have parking permits) at $50 a permit, how long would it take the university to save up enough for improved parking?

Better:

I live about a mile or so from campus and I prefer to drive to school. The drive is fairly short and traffic is minimal, but once I arrive at the parking lot I spend up to thirty minutes trying to find a place to park. And often, after exhausting all normal options I end up parking several blocks away from campus; or if I am really pressed for time, I risk having to pay a fine when I park in the “A” lot. For many students at BYU, parking is a serious issue and concern, and many students would like to see things change. While I feel that there are many ways to help alleviate the parking problem, charging for permits would be one of many obvious solutions.

Why did BYU ever think it was a good idea to do away with paying for parking permits? The simple laws of supply and demand would set a price for the permits, and with a then limited number of permits, parking would be so much easier. Multilevel parking garages would also alleviate some of the strain placed on the existing parking lots. I know that these parking garages are anything but cheap; in fact they would cost millions of dollars, but that’s where the income from the sales of parking permits could go. Think about it, with approximately 30,000 students (many of which drive to campus and have parking permits) at $50 a permit, how long would it take the university to save up enough for improved parking?