Volume 134, Issue 3
City College Neighbors Report Student Parking Rage
Worst parking shortage in City College history as full-time enrollment hits record high
By Justin Jaffe
Student spend up to thirty minutes searching for a parking space. Some block driveways rather than spend the necessary time finding a legal spot. |
Despite the 16 acres of Balboa Reservoir that City College has allotted for student parking, commuting students desperate to make it to class, habitually park illegally, blocking driveways on streets near the campus.
An informal poll of students parking in the streets just north of campus last week put the average time spent looking for a parking space at around 30 minutes.
Predictably, after a half hour of searching in vain, many students resort to ditching their cars wherever they can even if it means blocking a driveway.
"My next-door neighbor used to scream and yell at students when they parked in front of her house," said Regina Blosser, who has lived on Edgar Street for 23 years.
While some residents choose to yell and scream, many more of them tow.
One resident of Flood Street, who insisted on anonymity for fear of reprisal, said she tows an average of six cars a week during the school year, and up to five cars a day during registration at the beginning of the semester.
Recently, she said, students whose cars she has towed have begun to strike back with verbal abuse and threats.
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"My next-door neighbor used to scream and yell at students when they parked in front of her house."
Regina Blosser,
Oceanview, Merced, and Ingleside Neighbors in Action |
Although no charges were filed, the San Francisco Police Department and the City College administration were notified. Those who issue verbal threats can be charged with assault.
More often, though, students must contend with the Department of Parking and Transportation, rather than the Police Department.
Getting towed costs students about $148 plus a parking ticket and any additional storage fees, more than five times the cost of a semester's parking permit.
Even those who want to pay for parking permits, however, can't always get them. The College offers them on a limited, first-come, first-serve basis at the beginning of the semester.
Allan Jew, a first year student who commutes from Hercules twice a week, has had to wait 15 to 20 minutes just to get into Reservoir A, where parking costs one dollar per day.
"You just got to wait," said Jew. "It's just packed."
City College neighbors take drastic measures to keep their driveways clear, often having several cars towed per week. |
Dan Driscoll, who has worked at City College for 30 years, complained that students often park in reserved faculty and staff spaces, forcing faculty and staff to find parking in the Reservoir, which is technically illegal.
"It took me an hour and a half this morning," he said, calculating his average daily parking search at between 20 and 30 minutes.
So what are the alternatives?
Blosser, a member of Oceanview, Merced, and Ingleside Neighbors in Action, has lobbied City College to make it easier for students to take public transportation.
She favors the construction of a dedicated City College MUNI station, or, at least, rerouting MUNI closer to campus. She said that such proposals had been bogged down in the City bureaucracy for more than a year.
Regardless, many students claim that the convenience of driving to school outweighs the nuisance of parking.
"Public transportation's a hassle," said Roger Fonseca, a first year student who usually spends upwards of 20 minutes searching for a parking spot.
To make matters worse, rumors have been swirling about a proposed construction project to build over the Reservoir, which would result in a parking catastrophe unless a mass of new spaces were created.
For now, students will continue to hunt for elusive spaces, and when they can't find them, residents will continue to tow.
The Flood Street neighbor pleads with students to "obey the parking laws."
"It's really just that simple."