by Judy Polanco
Staff Writer
Completing a swap of parking spaces with the City of La Verne, freshly painted green curbs limiting parking to two hours were installed in the Wilson Library parking lot last week.
The two-hour parking restriction is in effect every day of the week except Sunday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. As part of the planning for the Wilson Library project, the city required the University of La Verne to develop these spaces.
“We really didn’t have much control over it because the city owns the eastern most portion of the Wilson Library parking lot,” said Brian Worley, director of facilities management.
Because many ULV students access the spaces, which are located in the downtown shopping area, the city received complaints from store owners that there was not adequate short term parking for their patrons. In order to alleviate this, the city installed the two-hour spaces so customers and students can have access to short-term parking at all times.
The city allowed the University to keep 12 spaces for full-time parking, even though they have the authority to only leave six. However, in the event that the downtown area begins to develop, the city has the right to extend the two-hour parking to include these six stalls along D Street.
Worley believes that the two-hour stalls can be beneficial to those students who are on campus for a brief period. Additionally, the restriction is only in effect during business hours. Students who attend classes at night, will not be affected by this situation.
“It does have its impact, but we tried to mitigate this impact,” said Worley.
In the fall, the University will add approximately 40 parking spaces, which will be located between the temporary library site and the Oaks. The Education Department will be housed in this location, making available spaces in the Mainiero parking lot.
The University is in agreement with the city that the new parking arrangement will benefit everybody. But some commuter students do not share the sentiment.
“I live five minutes from school, but I have to come 20 minutes early to find a parking space,” said sophomore Jennifer Reh.
“That’s a major inconvenience because parking is already limited. So if I do park there, I will have to be constantly moving my car after each class,” said junior Michelle Lopez.
In addition to the inconvenience the two-hour parking may cause commuter students, many believe the University and City are devaluing the education process.
“This is not a mall; we don’t come here to browse. This is a university where we spend the majority of our days,” said sophomore Jarred Perry.
Violating the two-hour parking will result in a ticket and a $30 fine.
Besides the newly painted green curbs in the Wilson Library parking lot, there are also yellow curbs for carpoolers. Students who carpool can obtain a permit from ridesharing in Founders Hall room 215. A valid ULV ID and signatures from the carpoolers are required on the application. For more information, contact ridesharing at extension 4901.
