Dallas College has seven locations: Brookhaven, Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, Mountain View, Richland and North Lake. And they all have something in common: campus parking seems to be an issue for all Dallas College students.
A student who attended classes at El Centro and transferred to Eastfield said parking at El Centro all depends on where you park, which is “ridiculous” for people who attend community college.
“The main issue I had with El Centro is having to pay for parking four days a week. There’s a lot of competition for the meters and those are the ones where you only have to pay about $3 for max two hours,” Richy Diaz said. “If you have one class that’s fine, but for people who have longer classes, you don’t have the option of going to the meter or paying it off like the second it ends. It just sucks because if you have to leave class and don’t get a meter you have to park in the overpriced parking spots where they charge around $14 for a four-hour session.”
Eastfield compared to El Centro works better for Diaz as there are more options in parking and is free.“Having to pay for parking out of school where you’re already paying for tuition is not the best idea because some students can’t afford to go to a four-year university,” he said. “Comparing this to any of the campuses like Eastfield they have a ton of free parking. I’ve never struggled to find a parking spot here, I’ve struggled at times to find a parking spot in a certain building, but you can always circle around and there’s always a spot. At El Centro, every meter is being used, especially if you go in the mornings where people are working or people are visiting coffee shops and what not, you can find some meters like on the outskirts of the city, but then you have to walk a really long distance to class, which isn’t convenient.”
His solution to the problem would be for the school to get their own parking lot for the students. It may not be cheap, but if many students pay tuition, “I’m sure it adds up over time to slowly get one square, maybe two squares just for students to increase the odds of getting a parking spot.”
Student Ricardo Trejo, who has visited nearly all Dallas College campuses, said that overall the parking at Dallas College is “alright.”
“Honestly, I have noticed that many students have complained that finding parking near their classes is a struggle,” Trejo said. “My only suggestion at Eastfield is that there are many students on campus who park on any lot without considering if another student needs that spot to be near their class.”
“There are also many students who contribute to each campus who deserve their own parking. For example, some departments that should have their own parking in Dallas College should be athletes, student media and student workers near the building they need to be,” he said. “Apart from departments having their own parking, having shade to park under can be beneficial for students on campus if more trees are planted or if shade covers are used for shade.”
With student voices appealing to speak about the highs and lows of parking and solutions, Dallas College should do what they can for their students to have more accessible parking throughout all campuses.
Eastfield has a new “VIP parking” designated for the campus’ VIP student of the semester.
