Parking on campus is exorbitant

Natalie Doland
The Silhouette

The parking cost at McMaster from September 2013-April 2014 is about $556, and the average Canadian university tuition is $5,772. This makes parking at McMaster for eight months approximately one-tenth of the average Canadian tuition.

There have been numerous cases of illegal parking this academic year. Approximately 75 tickets have been issued, and there is an indeterminate amount of parking-mischief that has gone unnoticed. There are many reasons that people feel this is their only option. Parking on campus is overly expensive, and students have limited resources to pay for fees on top of tuition. It is hard enough for students to own a car and pay for gas, let alone buy or pay for a parking permit.

A fine of $75 is administered to anyone caught scamming free parking. Even if five tickets are received over the eight month academic period, it is still cheaper than buying the most inexpensive parking pass at McMaster. It is not surprising that students are continually finding ways to cheat the system. The odds of getting caught are in the parker’s favour because it would require a great amount of staff to catch cialis for women every illegal parker. A McMaster graduate stated that her tactic worked 40 or 50 times and she paid minimally. Honest people that pay for parking are beginning to see that these illegal strategies are working. Consequently, more and more people are trying to cheat the system. As more students hear about the different tactics avoiding the system, the problem will only worsen and fewer students will pay for parking. McMaster must take action.

McMaster may argue they need to charge this amount for maintenance, new sidewalks or other miscellaneous costs. McMaster can work out this problem is through student fees. Bus passes are automatically added to a student’s fees regardless of if the student wants to use the pass. McMaster should consider the decision of designing a system where a student can opt-out of the bus pass and use that cost towards a parking permit. This would reduce the cost for students parking on campus, subsequently reducing the amount of illegal parking. McMaster’s solution to solving the illegal parking issue is imminent. The ball is in their court and it is time that they take action on this issue.