Since the fall semester of 2014, Bakersfield College has no longer offered free parking and increased the price of parking passes from $30 to $40.
Students who either could not afford the new price of the passes, or those who just felt they shouldn’t have to pay for parking, needed alternative means to park during classes.
Many students park off of Haley or University avenues, which was not an issue until the newly added “No Parking” signs further decreased the amount of free parking closer to campus. That forced students to migrate to the neighboring streets and parks in residential areas.
Some students parking in residential areas have been upset by the treatment the residents have been showing them.
“It’s just a complete lack of respect from some of these people,” said BC freshman Daviah Ritchie. “I mean one lady actually threatened to slash my tires if I parked in front of her house again. It’s funny, though, because these people don’t own the street. We have just as much right to it as they do.”
According to Amber Chiang, director of marketing and public relations for BC, the students who complain about the parking are the ones who are ill prepared for college.
“There’s plenty of parking offered at BC if you’re willing to pay,” she said. “Newer students who don’t understand this is no longer high school are expecting everything to be handed to them. I get here at 6 a.m. every day and by noon when I leave for lunch, my spot is gone. I deal with it, so should they.”
However, Chiang does understand it’s a problem with no clear solutions,
“We can’t fix the residential parking problems at BC because it is beyond our control,” she said. “Those complaints, whether they be from a student or a resident, need to be directed at the Bakersfield Police Department. We have no control over anything outside of this campus.”
The residents, however, are getting restless with the lack of communication between BC administration and themselves. Bakersfield native Jason Marquez has lived on Radcliffe Street all of his life but doesn’t understand why he loses his parking spot every morning when he returns from work.
“I just don’t see why they can’t talk to us face to face and come to an understanding,” he said. “No one from the school will listen to me so I just decided to take it into my own hands by leaving cones in front of my home.”
When asked if this problem will be discussed in the future, Chiang said, “I’ve been here 10 years, and every semester it is a problem. A solution takes man-hours, time, money and an extensive change in board policy. My advice is, either buy the pass or deal with the other forms of parking.”
Chiang offers solutions like parking legally on the side of the school or finding out about the free parking-pass for student veterans.