The Graduate Student Association has recently put forth a proposal that attempts to address rising parking costs at Boston College. After costs rose 10 percent this year, and are expected to continue to rise, graduate students have complained that the costs are exorbitant, especially considering the fact that students are not always guaranteed a parking spot. During high-traffic events like sporting events, graduate students who have payed over 300 dollars for a permit might not be able to find a space, Christopher Tansey, writer of the proposal and LGSOE ’19, said. The GSA has outlined four main goals to rectify this issue: halt the increasing parking cost, create a proportional parking system, create more shuttle routes, and ensure that students are notified when parking fees increase. This means increased transparency from the Office of Transportation and Parking, as well as new methods of combating rising permit prices.
The new proposed shuttle routes are still being discussed, but they would most likely run into Allston/Brighton, Coolidge Corner, or farther down Commonwealth Avenue, Tansey said. These new shuttles would be available to all students, both undergraduate and graduate. Increasing the number of shuttle routes would benefit all students and would help ease the difficulties commuters face. This would be a practical step toward dealing with the issue of consistently rising parking prices. Although a route into downtown Boston, or any other traffic-packed and distant place, is not plausible, a smaller extension would highly benefit students who must commute to BC.
The GSA has done a good job of working with the administration and with the undergraduate student body. As the process proceeds, GSA has cohesively brought together these groups and is helping to create the best possible compromise between their varying viewpoints.
In order to determine the best new shuttle routes, a survey will be sent out to the University’s entire student body. This demonstrates a positive engagement between the Office of Transportation and Parking and the needs of the GSA and the student body as a whole. Hopefully, these solutions will come to fruition in the future. The Office of Transportation and Parking should take the GSA’s proposal into account and try to meet the goals it presents, or work on a middle ground that lessens the sting of expensive parking without the guarantee of a spot.
Featured Image by Drew Hoo / Heights Editor
