Wichita State Poised For Massive Growth

[SHOCKvalue]

The funny thing is the chatter about parking turns perception into reality. Is it really there is no parking available, or is it no parking available within 50 steps of your classroom building? Perhaps it is more of a walking problem, not a parking problem. And then I can also say, in my best old geezer voice, "back in my day we didn't have shuttle buses on campus!"

Yeah, when I was a student I parked in the boonies, both to avoid door dings, and the lazy weirdo parking spot stalkers, so the current brouhaha is totally lost on me.

I usually parked in the lot to the SSW of the varsity tennis courts, across 17th. I typically was literally the only vehicle in that lot when I parked there. My classes were mostly in Clinton Hall, so it is not as if there is a shortcut parking spot (then or now) for a student going to the dead center of campus. Even pulling up current google maps/earth aerial photographs shows plenty of available spots in those lots across 17th.

[Dave Stalwart]

Sometimes a little extra walking is exactly what people need. Maybe not necessarily in this situation, but oh well. People who live in huge cities have to walk all the time. For example, walking across campus is barely even a half of one mile at worst. There are millions of people who have to walk several miles a day to make their lives work. In this part of the world, we are so used to driving our car straight up to the front door of where ever we are headed that sometimes we forget walking is a normal thing.

You aren't late to class because you couldn't find a parking spot. You are late to class because you didn't arrive early enough and allow enough time to find a parking spot and walk a little bit. You hate walking long distances because you are out of shape. Walking can be an enjoyable thing if you plan ahead and don't hate exercise. Just saying. Maybe I'm being insensitive. It's been a long time since I went to school at WSU, so maybe it really is a problem and I am just out of touch.

[Dan]

I went to grad school at TAMU. Shuttle busses are a requirement to get from one side of campus to the other. You would be late to some classes if you tried to walk it. It's part of growing up, as a University.

[pogo]

I lived off campus and would plan my day to arrive at the RSC have a cup of coffee BS with others and then off to class. Using The RSC as my base of operation it was an easy walk anywhere. On really cold snowy days it was nice to warm up there. You just have to plan a little in advance but I notice PPPPPPP is still not in abundance.

[_kai_]

The funny thing is the chatter about parking turns perception into reality. Is it really there is no parking available, or is it no parking available within 50 steps of your classroom building? Perhaps it is more of a walking problem, not a parking problem. And then I can also say, in my best old geezer voice, "back in my day we didn't have shuttle buses on campus!"

Bingo. This is at least the stance I've heard discussed, based on the stats done by a firm that observed the parking lots prior to any construction being done. I was lucky enough to sit in on some meetings prior to the dorm decisions and the stats stated that there were I think if my memory serves me correctly 400 open parking spots at any given time on campus.

Parking will always be an issue at a university, especially a university that is a commuter school. Now Bardo is wanting to move WSU further away from that commuter reputation and move into the future of universities with things like shuttles, like @Dan said about TAMU and that it's just part of a Uni growing up. Parking was always discussed as an issue since I can remember from every generation of WU & WSU student. If you want to see a real traffic jam and issue go back and look at the university the first semester after the GI's returned from WWII. It was amazingly packed. Really great pictures from the Parnassus back then.

[MoValley John]

Parking was a problem at the little college I attended. Parking was a problem where my wife went to school. Anyone I've ever met said parking sucked at college. That shouldn't be a reason anyone chooses not to attend a school, it just means they really don't want to go to school. I can't speak for Wichita State personally, but the parking problem described seems similar to the parking problem at every school.

If, where you are at, the parking is a problem, and it seems like there is little or no effort to alleviate the problem, you are probably at one of the hundreds of colleges or universities in the US.

[RoyalShock]

Bingo. This is at least the stance I've heard discussed, based on the stats done by a firm that observed the parking lots prior to any construction being done. I was lucky enough to sit in on some meetings prior to the dorm decisions and the stats stated that there were I think if my memory serves me correctly 400 open parking spots at any given time on campus.

When I attended in the early 90s the Sunflower was routinely littered with parking complaints. I never understood this because on days when my first class was at 9 or 10am instead of 8am I could still park in the Hillside lot with hundreds of empty spaces. If you tried to go to the lot where the new dorm is now, there were vultures at each end of every row. I'm sure they were writing their letters to the editor as they waited for someone to leave. They would sit there for who knows how long, finally drive to the Hillside lot out of desperation, then complain because they had to walk an extra 200-300 yards and would now probably be late to class. Sorry, folks. No sympathy for laziness. You're in college now. Use your brain and your legs.

[Shoxthemonkey]

I always parked at the entrance to the ROTC armory. That lot was always half empty. Why don't people do that anymore?

[SHOCKvalue]

I always parked at the entrance to the ROTC armory. That lot was always half empty. Why don't people do that anymore?

Sadly, it has been a long time since anyone knew of a context or connection to anything regarding WSU and ROTC. I first set foot on WSU's campus nearly 20 years ago now (yikes), and I don't have a clue where the ROTC armory used to be.

We need ROTC back at WSU, but that is another discussion, and I have no idea how hard that would be to get done.

[Shoxthemonkey]

In relation to the current campus layout, I'm not sure exactly where it was. It was straight east of the library and north of the wind tunnel IIRC. 1970-74

[SHOCKvalue]

In relation to the current campus layout, I'm not sure exactly where it was. It was straight east of the library and north of the wind tunnel IIRC. 1970-74

Okay, I know the building you are talking about. No idea what they do with it today. Nothing directly in context with students, I don't believe.

[wu_shizzle]

Parking was a problem at the little college I attended. Parking was a problem where my wife went to school. Anyone I've ever met said parking sucked at college. That shouldn't be a reason anyone chooses not to attend a school, it just means they really don't want to go to school. I can't speak for Wichita State personally, but the parking problem described seems similar to the parking problem at every school.

If, where you are at, the parking is a problem, and it seems like there is little or no effort to alleviate the problem, you are probably at one of the hundreds of colleges or universities in the US.

See also: Downtown Arenas

[Dave Stalwart]

I'm kinda glad to see that the vibe from many of you is the same as I feel. This parking stuff seems like drama to me. I remember when they announced where Shocker Hall was going and many people started complaining right away about parking. That hall is beautiful and has done wonders for the look and feel of the campus. WSU is headed in the right direction and it's obviously doing things right, so when I hear the negativity coming from having to adjust a little bit, I just roll my eyes.

Now, if people are being forced to park off campus and their cars are getting broken into as a result, I will listen to that. If all we are talking about is a need to plan a little bit, come ten minutes sooner and walk a half mile instead of a quarter mile, I will not listen to that.

[SHOCKvalue]

The people who are bitching about are parking are the same people who show up for class at WSU wearing KU gear. Parasites of the public education system hurriedly getting their liberal arts degrees, with no allegiances whatsoever to the institution granting them.

I know it sounds harsh, but it is the truth. People who care about the University, who see the University as bigger than themselves, and are excited for it's improvement and refinement, don't ***** about parking. Leeches do.

[WuShock16]

Whenever I hear anyone gripe about WSU's parking situation, I quickly and sarcastically respond with, "Yeah, Wichita State University is the first higher education institution in the history of humanity that has ever had parking issues."