SFU Surrey students need more parking stalls.

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SFU Surrey students need more parking stalls.

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uploaded by kietluong

Does the following image look familiar to you? Well, if you are the owner of a vehicle, I am certain that you have obtained several of these throughout your driving history. I, personally, have been handed out two of these offences in one month while parking at SFU Surrey. The Surrey campus needs to provide more available student parking.

Currently, the SFU Surrey campus assigns a limited number of parking decals to students through a lottery process. The unfortunate students who do not win have the choice of purchasing monthly parking passes from Diamond Parking at nearby sites. The cost of this monthly pass is $50.00 and amounts to $150.00 per semester. I believe that this cost is extragant since students have a limited amount of income and already have to finance their expensive tuition fees. 

Other options for students are to not drive or to become risktakers, parking on site and moving your vehicle every 3 hours. Unfortunately, the latter is not a full-proof plan since the parking enforcer may consistently notice your vehicle or your backpack filled with books. This resulted in the aquiring of my two tickets. Each ticket is $45.00 and since I've paid $90.00 so far, I am still better off than paying the $150.00 a month. In respect to the former, driving is the only option in many cases.   

As a solution, I propose that SFU should acquire more parking stalls from Central City Mall. Central City Mall currently has over 3,400 available parking spots with a large quantity of those being vacant throughout the day. SFU Surrey is home to over 4,000 students and an increase in enrollment is anticipated, therefore, SFU must provide a hasty resolution to this matter.

Another recommendation to SFU is to purchase the lot at 10240 City Parkway, which is right across from the Surrey Central Skytrain station. The lot is 1.03 acres, but hopefully a deal can be reached to purchase a portion of this land to be converted into a parking lot. By charging students $15 dollars per semester for a parking decal, SFU would defintely make back their initial investment. I would even be willing to pay up to $40 per semester.   

The following is a link to the current listing.

http://www.goodmanreport.com/Admin/Getfile.asp?ID=444