CREDIT: ILLUSTRATION BY JARED LE

The new school year has started and so has the frustration with the parking system at Fanshawe.

There are so many things wrong with this system and it continues to anger Fanshawe students year after year.

This is my third year at Fanshawe and I feel as though the parking situation at the College has gotten increasingly worse as the years go on.

One of the biggest issues with the parking at Fanshawe is the cost of it.

The rate for the general lot has gone up to $5 this year which means parking at the College is more expensive than parking in the middle of downtown London.

If you have a full time schedule and have to park at the college five days a week, that is going to set you back $25 a week, $100 a month and $800 for an eight month school year.

The fact that parking went up $1 may not seem to be very much in the eyes of those who are making the regulations, but it does add up.

That $1 a day can end up costing you an extra $160 for a year which could have been used to help pay for a couple of textbooks.

It's not like the price inflation of parking is reflected in a better system because the coin machines still work like something from the 1970s and being able to use your student card to pay is straight up false advertisement.

Not only are you paying a high price for the parking, but it is also mandatory to pay for a bus pass when you pay your tuition and there is no option to opt out.

The people who say, “just take the bus”, must not realize that Fanshawe draws students from a variety of locations. Not everyone is on a bus route so the fact that you have to pay for a bus pass regardless of using it does not make very much sense.

In addition to cost being a huge problem with the parking system, the lack of parking spots is another prominent issue. Unless you go to the school before 9 a.m., there is a good chance that you will miss your opportunity to get into the general parking lots.

This will leave you with two options of either paying a large chunk of money to park in the meter parking, or drive around and waste gas until someone leaves the lot. Either way, you are out even more money.

Even if you are able to sneak in the general parking lot before it is full, you are basically stuck at the school all day. If you want to leave during a break between classes you will have to pay another $5 to get back in and take the risk that there will not be any spots left when you return. If you are lucky enough to get chosen in the parking lottery then you truly are blessed because those spots are few and far between.

There is absolutely no winning in the parking world at Fanshawe or any post-secondary institution for that matter and it seems to be getting worse as the years progress.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.