Image credit: Mel Rothenburger

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Is there no end to the nightmare of parking at TRU?

Jul 6, 2023 | 4:26 AM

IT’S GREAT that there’s so much going on at Thompson Rivers University. New buildings are in the works, and news releases regularly trumpet the institution’s latest accomplishments.

So maybe it’s time to finally do something about the horrendous parking problem. I was well aware of it but, recently, I attended an event at the Clocktower Theatre and I swear the parking is worse than ever.

One could wander around that campus for days and never find a place to park. Like Charlie on the MTA, you need somebody to pass you a sandwich as you rumble through in hopes of locating a space.

Parking is free after 5 p.m. but, free where? There’s no indication that any of the hundreds of empty reserved parking spots is available for use.

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Between 8 a.m. and 5 in the afternoon, you have to pay. Through the nose. There are general parking spots, economy parking spots, premium spots, gated premium spots, reserved spots, spots for registered guests, spots for faculty and spots for staff. But, of course, you need a permit if you’re a regular visitor, in which case you get a bit of a break on the rate.

And you can get daily permits or metered permits.

Of course, whatever kind of stall, there aren’t enough of any of them. Every once in a while, the university cracks down on drivers who don’t park in designated spaces or don’t have the proper permits and goes on an enforcement spree.

A couple of years ago, a student started a petition urging that TRU build more parking and make it free for students. You can imagine how far that got. By the way, the petition pointed out that taking the bus just isn’t practical for many.

Instead of more parking, TRU seems intent on building more buildings that take away parking spaces while creating more demand for parking.

Explain the logic in that.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.