Since the beginning of October, law enforcement has started cracking down on drivers parking illegally around Cleveland. There has been a sudden surge of parking tickets and cars being towed out of the blue, which has disrupted our school days and bank accounts, and in turn, has raised frustration from people trying to get to class on time.
The area that has received the most attention from law enforcement is a parking lot behind McDonalds, which students call the “U.” Most of it contains legal parking spots, but there is a small section, about four or five cars wide, that is a loading zone, and therefore illegal to park in. Despite that small section, many students agree that the U is one of the more convenient places to park because there are so many spots and it’s close to school.
Shea Appleyard, a junior who has gotten a total of three parking tickets and had her car towed once while at school, notes that we don’t have a designated parking area for students. “It’s frustrating because I only parked in the U since I was running late, and I made a risky parking job. I ended up paying close to $500 to get to class on time. I know it’s my fault, but it’s really frustrating because where else are we supposed to park?”
The fact that Cleveland is located in a city and on such a busy and high traffic street such as Powell Boulevard makes it inevitable that nowhere is completely safe to park. Sarah Pender knows this issue all too well, after having her soccer equipment stolen from a friend’s car that was parked on 25th Avenue next to Burgerville.
“The left rear window was completely shattered, there was glass on the ground and in the car, and our soccer bags with all of our clothes and equipment for our game that afternoon were gone,” Pender said. “It was odd because we got the call around 9:15, so we had only been in school for around 45 minutes.”
She added that other students were still coming into school, which is how they found out. “Real brave.”
Some point out that we can use other methods of transportation such as the bus, walking or biking, but unfortunately, these are not easily accessible to all. Personally, I live in a neighborhood where the 70 bus is pretty much the only route that goes to Cleveland. Even though I have a bus stop near my house, this bus is always late and extremely unreliable. Furthermore, due to the route changes TriMet made over the last couple years, 70 bus riders have to transfer to the Orange Line and then walk 20 minutes from that stop to the school.
Walking and biking are also off-limits for many, due to more obvious reasons; people live far, and not everyone has a bike or knows how to ride one. This issue has left Cleveland drivers raising the question: where are we supposed to park?