No really, Towson, please continue building new dorms and apartments for more residents rather than parking garages to accommodate them. It makes complete sense charging students to live on campus but not giving them a place to park their cars. No commuter student ACTUALLY wants to attend school anyway so go ahead and keep allowing them to spend an hour looking for parking contributing to their already stressful days. Three parking garages for both faculty and students is certainly enough for over 22,000 people. Okay, sorry I'm done with the obvious sarcasm.
I spent four years at Towson University and even as an on campus resident with a parking pass I still had to face the parking mayhem. I watched commuter students rush into class almost daily regardless of how early they left to prepare to find an impossible spot. We are charged over $300 EACH year for a parking pass for a spot that is more than likely nonexistent. Even if you DO eventually find a spot, you have to read all nine hundred signs posted in the garages to be sure you are in a permit holder spot because God forbid you park in the space reserved for the Queen of England. Don't believe she has a spot? Go check, I'll wait.
Towson parking garages can turn the nicest individuals into gladiators with middle fingers replacing the swords and profanities shouted louder than "THIS IS SPARTA"…sorry Mom. As nasty as I have seen some individuals get, I know no one holds it against each other because we are all in the same dilemma.
During my junior and senior year I lived in the Towson Run apartments and on the day I moved in, I received a letter warning me of the impending construction that would become my 5am alarm clock for the next two years. Although I was irritated, I honestly thought they were building parking garages. This made me look forward to the possibility of my commuter friends and future visitors FINALLY having a place to park nearby; other than a random street corner with a meter to pay every 4 hours or Pollard Towing Company's parking lot. But no. No parking garages…more dorms.
I get it. Towson needs more housing for students. They need more housing because it brings in more people, more revenue and expands their already beautiful campus. Yes I do give compliments where they are deserved and Towson's campus is beautiful. They do an excellent job with their construction projects, regardless of the inconvenience they cause. I'm sure it bothers the University constantly hearing students complain about the construction but can you guess what project they wouldn’t complain about? PARKING GARAGES…or a Chipotle on campus, that too. Your move Towson.
In a liberal arts school, with thousands of students of all different personalities, backgrounds, and interests, a topic every single one of us can agree on is that the parking at Towson is as cut throat and unpredictable as Game of Thrones. So, rather than spend thousands of dollars on new dorms which contribute to the problem, why not use our tuition money on something students could actually benefit from…like a Chipotle. Just kidding, please fix the parking.
