By: Yasmin Hassan, Staff Writer
This isn’t the first time we’ve written about the unfortunate parking circumstances at the SFU Burnaby campus, and it’s clear that it won’t be the last until some real reform happens. It seems my silly idea of driving into the pond was not the first of its kind, either. But why is it that, as an institute that is largely a commuter school, the everlasting issue of effective parking and bus routes persists every year? The inaccessible and inconvenient modes of transportation available to students are in dire need of improvement.
While the R5 RapidBus, 143, 144, and 145 lines are there for students to get to SFU, most people have to transfer between lines to get to them and make their way up the mountain. This is especially true for people from smaller cities like Maple Ridge, Langley, and rural areas. This highlights a bigger issue of public transportation needing to be prioritized and elevated to a higher standard for efficient use among people. This is especially considering it’s difficult to opt out of the U-pass — not using transit or having a vehicle isn’t a valid reason to opt-out. While the distant gondola project may be helpful, it wouldn’t hurt if the university pushed for bus access that would actually take you to SFU directly.
When there’s a convocation, I don’t even bother driving up to campus because I know the parking lots will be jammed up until the early evening when all my classes are over. Seeing the construction, which is somehow always going on around UniverCity, makes me think about how a majority of the parking lots at SFU have now been sold as realty developments for highrises and apartments. I find it quite interesting that the school’s priorities lie within generating wealth by selling off land (which, really, isn’t theirs in the first place) to developers that turn plots into apartment buildings that will most likely be twice as expensive as the cost of residence. And don’t get me wrong, I’m all for more housing. But the reality is that these units aren’t built to be affordable, and many students — especially those who travel a long distance — rely on finding parking.
I don’t mind driving, nor do I mind bussing, but there’s a clear issue when both modes of transportation are equally mediocre and obviously not a priority to SFU. Perhaps if transit options were more accessible, fewer students would even feel the need to drive to campus. The system is inefficient and needs reform. If I’m taking a substantial amount of time out of my day to get to school an hour or two earlier, counting for traffic, bus cancellations and delays, it almost makes me not want to show up to class in the first place. And while TransLink certainly plays a role in this dilemma, public universities do have a sway in public policy. For a school that’s rated the top comprehensive university on a yearly basis, it’s concerning how inaccessible it can be — especially for the majority that commute to class.
