I am proud to be a student of the Australian National University and in my two years studying there have had a number of wonderful experiences however I am sick of the constant struggle to find parking every morning of the week.
Frequently I am drawn into conversations with friends and colleagues which inevitably leads to the conversation- "You're a uni student you can't complain. Don't you have 10 contact hours a week and sleep in every day." For the record I have 13 contact hours a week and despite the fact I would LOVE to sleep in, if I don't make it to uni on time I don't get a car park. Every morning thousands of local students face the dilemma of if they don't get to the campus before 9am they don't get a car park. Last semester I didn't have classes before 11am so this was a massive pain and some days I didn't start until 4pm but still I would find that I was unable to find anywhere to park my car. This combined with the Government's love of selling car parks in Civic in order to turn the City Centre into an overdeveloped replica of Sydney while charging exorbitant rates for the parking that remains is ridiculous.
Some may say why don't I just catch public transport. Living in Tuggeranong, a good 25km from university and having to work (night shifts so finishing late) as well as having a number of other committments in Belconnen on a regular basis, I need a car in order to go about my daily business however ANU seems somewhat adamant on not allowing me anywhere to park. Luckily I do have friends living in the inner north which provides me with somewhere to leave my car if I happen to hit traffic on the parkway and arrive at 9:01 however the fact that I have to pay ANU $140 a year for a sticker to put on my car which recently seems to be more of an accessory than anything of any great use is unacceptable.
So how did I feel after 5 weeks of holidays driving through the campus to discover that the carpark I normally park in is fenced off and filled with construction equipment? I hope that this is in order to perhaps make my beloved "back science" carpark bigger however I don't hold high hopes that this is the case. I understand the need for more accommodation for interstate students and know that the University is in a sticky situation after an overwhelming response to their accommodation guarantee. The university needs to remember that a large majority of their students live locally and they should put just as much effort in to cater for the "townie" population of the university.
I love studying at ANU but would love to see some action taken to make it easier for the local students of ANU to park on Campus as opposed to in O'Connor, at the Botanic Gardens or just going home rather than having to pay $10.50 for a day somewhere in Civic.
