UNIVERSITY PARKING PLAN AIMS TO MEET STUDENT NEEDS

If you want to engage students at Southeast Missouri State University in a lively discussion, ask them about parking.

Like most universities and colleges these days, most students live -- and often hold jobs -- in Cape Girardeau or other communities, unlike a couple of decades ago when most students would live on campus or be involved in nearby fraternities and sororities.

But because so many students drive to classes each day, there are parking pains on just about every campus in America. Most campuses were laid out when students lived within walking distance and, of course, walked to and from classes. As a result, there aren't very many campuses anywhere with the space to provide a lot of additional parking that is easily accessible to classroom buildings.

Southeast has approached the situation by providing shuttle services throughout the campus. Students who use parking lots, mainly on the north side of the growing campus, have access to the shuttles, but many of them choose to walk anyway. Still other students opt to park on city streets in the Capaha Park area, which means no shuttle is available and walkers must climb a hill to get to the campus.

In any event, students continue to grumble about the parking situation.

The university hasn't ignored those concerns. But finding a solution that is both workable and affordable isn't easy. With a $2.5 million grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation plus half that in matching funds from the university, there is a plan in the works that could make the shuttle service more attractive to students.

Much of the funding will be spent on creating a special roadway for shuttles through the interior of the campus. Shuttles currently use city streets that go around the edges of the campus. As a result, many students find walking is just as easy as waiting for a shuttle and then having to walk anyway.

In addition, plans call for adding shelters that would make waiting for a shuttle a little easier in bad weather.

As required for all MoDOT-funded projects, a hearing was scheduled that would have allowed the public to comment on the planned improvements. This would have been a good opportunity for students to voice their concerns. The fact that the number of students on campus is reduced during the summer may have had something to do with the fact no students asked to be heard. In fact, no one did, and the hearing was canceled.

It appears these improvements will offer students a better system of getting from cars to classes. But it probably won't satisfy all the complainers. The perfect plan that would suit everyone probably doesn't exist.