UCC’s Parking Has Failed Students
Written by Chloe Barrett
Unfortunately, I get incredibly travel sick when I sit on a bus. Perhaps it is the stuffiness that cannot be vanquished by the tiny windows or the unsteady motions. I have tried the medication, the children’s lollipops, and even those cute little travel bracelets. Eight times out of ten, I still have to bring a little sick bag with me and send myself into an anxious panic over the fact that I may have to use it and make a fool out of myself in front of various commuters. However, I discovered that I am fine when driving a car. While sitting in the backseat is equally as dodgy as the bus, so far I have not felt ill whilst driving. So, I put my mind to driving, got my theory test done, paid for lessons, and a year later I had my full driver's license and a car. Although I did not know that the parking situation would be so dire.
Essentially, there are two car parks for students who attend UCC. You do have to pay per hour to leave your car here. Thankfully, these are quite close to either side of campus, so they are convenient if you happen to be in a rush. That is if you manage to scramble there in time to grab one. I've only managed to make it there before they filled up once, and that was at 8:45a.m. There were a total of two spaces left in the entire car park at this time. On other days on campus when you cannot arrive in the morning you are, essentially, screwed. The same applies to Dennehy's Cross free car park. If you are not there before 8am, you can kiss your parking space goodbye!
One of my dear friends lives in Castlewhite accommodation and offered me a parking space outside of their apartment. I gratefully accepted it, before I got kicked out after a total of a week. Even though I explained that I was visiting my friend and just going to park outside the free spot that was never in use, the security man would not let me through the barrier. He gruffly told me to park across the street in the UCC car park, which was, you guessed it, full.
Since then, I have taken to parking in car parks where you pay per hour, where I usually pay €3.00 for the privilege and hope that they do an offer if you remain there for the day. Only the other day I struggled with a parking machine not registering my coins, where it spat some back at me and then stole the rest. Street parking is a miracle in the small chance that it’s there, too. Every day, students now have to choose between grabbing a quick snack on campus when they are in for many hours or paying for parking. Parking ultimately comes out on top. When I added up the money I have to save for my parking per semester, it comes to almost two hundred euros. Just to park my car somewhere.
Other students that attend UCC that I know of are in the same position. I spoke to a student who had to return straight home after driving an hour to campus because they could not find a space anywhere, and as a result, had to miss their lectures for the day. Another stated that to avoid paying for parking, they leave their car in a free location, and then walk forty minutes to and from the campus daily. Those who choose on-street parking have to face the additional stress of driving around constantly looking for an available place. It is also an additional stress on students who could not get accommodation near the college, and have to drive for hours each day to attend lectures, to then pay an abhorrent amount for parking. There are spaces there, such as the spot I was given in accommodation, or even the countless unused spaces in the Western Gateway Building that I drive past daily, reserved for lectures which I have never seen occupied.
UCC could certainly implement changes to alleviate both the cost and stress that this is putting on students. They could make parking cheaper in their campus car parks, allow those in student accommodation who have been given permission by residents, or even allow staff to reserve spots outside buildings and then open up the rest to students. There are solutions out there, but if the college will decide to act upon them is the real question.