SCAMP and My Very Opinionated Thoughts

So here's an article in the Daily Universe about Provo parking restrictions.

Basically what its saying is that recently the Provo Municipal Council met and voted to reduce the number of parking spots that are mandatory for property owners to offer their tenants from 1 per resident to .7 per resident (I don't really believe those numbers though. I've heard its more like 1.5 spots per home or apartment, but that's neither here nor there).

This is due, in BIG part, to the new great and spacious building being built off of 400 N. Originally this land held an elementary school, but as the student community south of campus grew, the school was shut down and permanent residents began to spread out across the city. When the land was bought by a developer, no comprehensive plan for parking in Provo had been proposed. A parking garage could have, theoretically, been built here. One was not.

A plan has been drafted and ratified to systematize parking south of campus. This would involve "zones" for streets that only residents can park in. Here is an article detailing some of the reasons that this plan has been tabled. Here is the official page for more information on parking permit programs in Provo (alliteration never hurt anyone).

The bottom line though?

'Citizens were given the opportunity to voice their concerns about the resolution.

“Averages are great at smoothing out rough spots in a big picture,” said Charles McElwee, a Provo resident. “But this is a little picture.”

McElwee questioned the propriety of the bus system and the lack of a viable grocery store in the area, using the latter concern to show that students who make up a big part of the area’s demographic still need to drive at times, and therefore need a place to park their vehicles.

The resolution passed with only one council member in opposition.'

Did anyone reading this go to the meeting? I sure didn't. I'm sure I could have if I'd been paying attention.

A huge problem in our community is this moral indignation over the City making decisions that affect us students in ways we don't appreciate. But what are students doing about it? If we feel we have the right to complain, shouldn't we also feel like we need to get involved?

Stay informed, go to City council meetings, and SAY you disagree with the plan to limit parking in Provo. SAY you need better UTA routes. SAY you need zoning changes to facilitate accessible grocery stores. SAY you want a walkable community and bigger bike lanes. But SAY it in a City Council meeting. Here is a City Council meeting schedule with past meeting minutes.

There are resources at your fingertips and there is work to be done. Get involved or stop complaining. Often enough, "getting involved" is just complaining to the right people. Imagine that.

On that note, somebody tell Sterling May that we need a student on the Student and Young Adult Advisory Board who will actually help students and young adults in Provo. Email that cat because I'm sick of the guy who ruins student-administration mediation at BYU also ruining student-city relations in Provo as a whole.

Student Provo City Alliance

Provo City

Thanks Dax for the heads up.