University of Virginia Library

Stuart Pape

The University
Parking Problem

Not too long ago, University
students rioted and burned several
vehicles when regulations affecting
the use of cars were summarily
altered during a vacation period.
Things got so "bad" that the State
Police had to be called out to
restore order and calm the outraged
students.

The present traffic and parking
problems are not quite that
distressing. I doubt that President
Shannon feels that a repeat
performance by the students is
imminent. However, it has already
been suggested by some, that if the
situation does not get better soon,
students should refuse to pay
parking tickets issued by the
Unicops.

Committee Report

It is with the obvious shortage
of spaces around the University,
and the addition of several hundred
more cars this semester belonging
to members of the first-year class in
mind, that particular attention
should be paid to the report
prepared by traffic and parking
consultants for the University's
Traffic Control Committee.

The report's essential
conclusions have already been
reported in The Cavalier Daily, and
can be briefly summarized as
follows: (1) There are more people
who would like to park near the
University than there are spaces
available. (2) Therefore, taking into
account financial considerations,
more spaces can be provided in
garages and paved lots at a cost of a
mere 11 million dollars.

Driving To Class

Any student who has ever driven
to class is well aware of the chance
he takes. If his timing is off, either
too early or too late, he will
probably be shut out and forced to
return to his original point of
departure with only a
semi-respectable excuse for punting
the class. In the alternative, the
student will have to park
somewhere out in the sticks.

Only some crazy perversion
continues to make large numbers of
students drive to class from
apartments and fraternity houses
close to the school. (Either that or
a desire to be unable to find a space
and thusly to be able to return to
the tube or the rack.)

Not only is the parking problem
immense, but the more attempt to
travel by car from the Corner to the
dorms can be a rigorous experience
requiring incredible patience and
the best techniques that only a New
York cab driver fully possesses. For
many students and faculty, the fine
art of walking has passed on along
with the Midwinters Concert.

Prohibit All Cars

The answer to all this as
proposed by the expert consultants
is to increase the number of cars
heading into the University area,
and of course to turn over more
land for parking spaces. This
approach seems to be unnecessary
and unwise.

A much better one, mentioned
briefly in the study but never fully
explored, would be to prohibit all
cars from entering or parking on
the University grounds between,
say, 8 A.M. and 6 P.M. and instead
have students, faculty and staff
park out at University Hall. From
there shuttle buses would operate
regularly, several times per hour, to
various parts of the University,
providing service to the exact
location desired.

Eliminate Car Lots

There would have to be
exceptions to the prohibition. Food
Services, Buildings and Grounds,
students or faculty with physical
problems, visitors, emergencies and
so forth. But the end result would
be beautiful — no ugly car lots
destroying the aesthetic character
of the University; no parking
problems for students, faculty or
staff; increased ability when using a
car to move about, a result
particularly appealing to the
Charlottesville governing bodies;
and a rejuvenation of physical
exercise, as surely most students
would walk for five minutes to get
to class as opposed to driving out to
University Hall in order to take the
bus.

New York City has already been
experimenting with prohibitions
against automobiles in business
sections of the City with great
success. The people seem more at
case, peaceful, and happy. The City

in turn acquires a large measure of
life, active and energetic, while at
the same time loses the discordant,
upsetting hassle of traffic jams,
pollution, horns and whatever other
liabilities follow the auto.

Mass Transit

In turn, mass transit responds by
increasing its capacity to carry large
numbers of people quickly and
efficiently. People who never
before travelled on a bus do so and
actually enjoy it. The New York
cab strike was a further example of
the way in which the force of habit
can be altered. Everyone thought
that without cabs chaos would
reign. Instead, shoppers,
businessmen, and tourists alike used
the buses and subways and
generally had favorable reactions.
Right now the lasting effects of this
can be seen, for the cabbie's
business is substantially down.

Parking On Lawn?

A solution such as has been
proposed in this article, albeit in
general terms minus the specifics
which will require study, would be
an innovative response, may be even
a radical one, in an area which
requires it. The automobile should
not dictate the response. Rather,
the objective should be ascertained
(presumably getting to the
University with a minimum hassle
and expense) and a solution framed
in terms of all the variables,
including the important one of
restoring to the University a beauty
consistent with its reputation and
in recent years destroyed. The
University has an opportunity to be
a leader. It can choose to discard
the old assumptions about the
necessity of everyone driving to
class and of having parking spaces
and lots all over the place or retain
those assumptions and turn the
Grounds into another paved and
parked on monstrosity.

About a year ago, The Cavalier
Daily ran a picture of the Lawn
with parking spaces marked off. At
the time, everyone scoffed at the
ridiculousness of the implication.
Somehow it doesn't seem so
ridiculous these days, especially if
the present response to this
problem remains unaltered.