Parking Headaches

If you read my previous post, you read about the maze that I go through to get from the parking garage to the office. I guess I shouldn't complain. I do not envy those who pay up to $50/month for guaranteed parking spots elsewhere around the building. Although those that get to park inside the garage adjoining the building have it made. They have been with the county for 30 years or more. Thankfully, when my coworkers are on vacation, they notify me so I may park in their spots. How nice!

There are some that park on the hill. Sidewalks and streets in the winter have been less than desirable for walking. One should bring skates, sled or toboggan to get the most out of the experience. I think they put chains on their shoes to get up the hills. They are San Francisco steep. Only San Francisco doesn't have ice and snow.

UMD has a rather profitable enterprise for their parking system. They sell maroon parking passes for $140 a semester. Get there quick, they say, so you can get one. It has been revealed that they sell more maroon passes than they have parking spaces for. This leaves a mess with the parking situation there as there is no guarantee that you will find a maroon parking spot. You may still have to pay to park in the pay lot. It is $2 per entry to get a spot there. However, often the lot is full. One of my classmates waited 2 hours for a parking spot. They also have parking meters. They are very predatorial with their ticketing practices. You can bet that they you will have a ticket if you are 5 minutes over.

Despite their parking nightmare, UMD continues to build new buildings in their current parking lots. It appears they have no room to expand outside their current boundaries, so they expand within their boundaries. Just outside the campus are parking spots that are available only to residents. None of this new construction includes a parking garage. Apparently they believe it would be an eye-sore. I don't think they have looked at their current buildings if they came to that conclusion.

After my umpteenth experience with parking perils at UMD, I vented to the class that was not yet in session about the parking situation. It is a common gripe. The teacher responded that UMD wants people to take the city bus. (Must be another business venture of theirs.) I responded that I would be happy to if they travel to Two Harbors to pick me up - they don't - and don't make allowances for commuter or ancient students, either. Finally we decided to hold class off campus. The teacher was fine with it and we were ecstatic with it, so we did it! Now it is so much less stressful! Wow! The things you have to do to reduce stress!