NC State offers first-year students the ability to park their cars on campus, unlike other colleges such as UNC-Chapel Hill. However, there is a catch; first-years living on main campus are only allowed to park their vehicles in Resident Storage, which is located on Centennial Campus. This is a major inconvenience for most first-years, since they are likely going to live on either Central or North Campus.
Access to and from Resident Storage is not always reliable. At the beginning of fall break, I had to wait for 30 minutes for the shuttle to take me to Resident Storage. By the end of fall break, after driving for two-and-a-half hours, I had to walk another 30 minutes in the blazing sun because the buses were not operating. Needless to say, I was utterly exhausted by the end of the day.
Students should not have to rely on the bus to access their cars, especially if there are passes left over. It makes no sense for NC State to place credit-hour limits on these parking permits that are closer to their dorms, as first-years are already the last group of students to apply for parking. Likewise, it’s silly that students should need one form of transportation to access a second form.
Although NC State has a limited amount of parking, it is critical that first-years still have access to other parking permits, as it allows them to explore what Raleigh has to offer. Raleigh is known to have a lot of unique restaurants, museums and other attractions that can enhance a student’s experience at college.
NC State should encourage first-years to experience Raleigh because it can enhance their college experience. Raleigh not only contains lots of unique restaurants and museums, but it also hosts various events such as Bugfest and the State Fair. By giving students easy access to travel outside of campus, they will be able to experience lots of attractions Raleigh has to offer, thereby making students feel more invested in the local community. This is especially important for students not from the Raleigh area, so they can adapt to the new location and truly feel at home in the Triangle the same way that local students do.
While other modes of transportation like the public bus and taxi services are present on campus, they can be inconvenient, time-consuming or expensive.
NC State offers a GoPass for $5, which allows students to ride buses between Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill. Although this provides a cheap method to students, waiting for the bus can be time-consuming, and the buses don’t always run at the same time students need them. Not only do students have to wait for the bus to arrive, but the bus also may not take them directly to their desired location.
For example, before I had brought my car to campus, I decided to take the bus to go to Crabtree Valley Mall. After waiting 10 minutes for the bus, it did not take me directly to the mall. Instead, it took me to the bus station, and I had to board another bus that then brought me to the mall. This cumbersome process took me around an hour to reach my desired location.
If I were to drive to the Crabtree Valley Mall from Talley, it would have taken me 12 minutes according to Google Maps. Clearly, having convenient access to your vehicle can significantly reduce the amount of time to reach your destination.
Some students may instead opt to use riding services like Uber or Lyft. Although these services are more convenient than using public transportation, they can be expensive, especially with regular use. By giving students easy access to their cars, students could save money by not relying on services such as Uber or Lyft.
Overall, NC State should offer more parking options to incoming first-years students. The current transportation options for first-years are either time-consuming or expensive. Although transportation will likely still give upperclassmen priority on permits, they should not completely prohibit first-years from applying for any permit available for other students.
