More cyclists on campus

By Genna Tan

Parking availability on campus has increased this year as more students are riding bicycles.

"Bikes definitely make it easier to go from one place to another because if I were to park in the structure, I'd still have to run to class," said senior Ronald Choi. "Plus it's more environmentally friendly than driving."

The construction of Lucas Hall on what was previously a parking lot has not reduced the number of parking spaces on campus.

The Third Mission parking lot across from Lucas Hall was enlarged to make 90 new spaces, said Campus Safety Director Charles Arolla. The field house will also be demolished sometime in the middle of winter quarter to create more parking spaces.

"One of the difficulties that students sometimes face in finding a parking place is the fact that they only focus on one particular location and believe that's the only place that they could, or should, park," said Arolla. "More often than not, that location is the parking structure."

Senior Marcela Gonzales, who commutes daily, said she was worried when Lucas was built.

"At first, I was kind of worried because I used to park in that lot where the business school currently is," said Gonzales. "But when school started, I didn't really have much trouble finding parking."

According to Arolla, permit sales for this year have decreased significantly from previous years, while there has been a definite increase in the amount of bicycles parked on campus.

Choi said he rides his bicycle to class because he wants to save money on gas while getting a workout at the same time.

"It's always convenient to find spots on the bike racks instead of trying to find parking at the parking structure, which always seems to be full around 10 a.m.," said Choi, who lives close to campus. "It usually only takes me about ten minutes to bike to school."

Choi said he noticed that more people were getting bikes on campus.

"We're trying to address the increase in bicycles on campus by installing additional bicycle parking at Lucas Hall," said Arolla. "We also recently had a drive to get people to register their bicycles and also offered D-locks at a reduced price."

Arolla said about 150 people registered their bicycles, while 60 people purchased D-locks during the event.

Biking also does have its downsides.

"I worry about my bike getting stolen even though it's not expensive," said Choi. "Also, it gets crowded during lunch time or between classes, so it's harder to bike around when there are people in the way."

The parking structure, which is the most centrally located parking area on campus, is the most used parking facility on campus, said Arolla.

"My suggestion is that commuter students should look at other parking lots like the Third Mission parking lot or the Franklin lot," said Arolla. "Use that as a primary destination."

"Permit sales are down and there appears to be more available parking on campus," said Arolla. "Of course it's going to be more difficult at peak times, but we haven't run out of parking yet."

Arolla said areas where there are limited spots, such as the CW parking on the west side of campus, aren't overfilled either.

"Anyone that applied for a west campus parking permit received it," said Arolla.

A car pooling program, which is available to faculty, staff and students, waives the parking fee for commuters who are signed up.

The program provides up to five free daily parking passes per month for each car pool.

There is no specific time period to sign up for the car pooling program, and enrollment in the program is free.

There are only 10 or 12 enrolled car pool groups, said Arolla.

Arolla also noted that Santa Clara is the only school in the area that offers free parking to participants in the car pooling program.

Contact Genna Tan at (408) 554-4546 or gbtan@scu.edu.