Photo contributed by Jeremy Vyn / Sputnik Photography

Wilfrid Laurier University – you belong here. Just not your car…for more than two hours. 

If you did belong here, you might be able to find a parking space that allows you to park for longer than two hours without getting hit with a $30 ticket. We’ve watched the One Market building erect into a beautiful study space and yet, who can leave their car to study for any length of time without being punished for actually being there? 

Last term, a guy in my class had to leave fifteen minutes early to move his car to avoid the time crunch. Call me crazy, but I can’t imagine sitting with the anxiety of getting a parking ticket when you’re already short on funds being very intellectually stimulating. This isn’t something students should be worried about while they’re trying to learn in a classroom.  

However, there is one solution. On top of all your other expenses, why not shell out more for a parkade permit? Or tickets? Or any other hoops and hurdles?  

If you’re lucky enough to be able to find a parking spot, you’ll probably have burnt half a tank of gas driving around trying to decipher the hieroglyphics on either side of the road. The signs might as well say, “Park here, but don’t park here,” at this point.  

Some people I know, and probably more that don’t care to admit it, park in business parking lots to avoid the stress entirely. I can’t blame them. We’re on a university campus in a downtown core, both places that are supposed to be bastions of intellect and creativity. Surely, we can come up with a better system than this.