Students at the College of The Bahamas (COB) have mixed views about the introduction of parking fees.
The proposal suggests that students be charged an additional $10 to $15 per semester for parking, according to COB Estates Administrator, Anthony Burrows.
Since news of the proposal was uncovered this semester rumors flooded the campus of when the proposal will come into effect. But according to Director of Security, Wellington Francis, parking fees are not implemented as yet. Francis said, “[The proposal] was drafted early this year and sent out for recommendation and approval…the [college] president in conjunction with the council [are] reviewing it for a final document and they will announce when the approval will be given for execution.”
However, execution of the proposal is not the only concern for students. Since construction started on the library a quarter of the student parking lot has been eliminated, which has caused problems. The proposal for parking fees has raised many eyebrows given that the college currently does not have sufficient parking.
While standing in a congested parking lot, Gail Hanna, business marketing major, questioned how officials can charge for parking when there is not adequate space being provided for students now. Hanna said, “Some days I have to park on the curb and outside the fence praying people don’t hit my car. I wouldn’t pay that fee. It makes no sense. I feel like I’ll be paying for the same lack of service.”
When questioned about a solution for insufficient parking, Burrows said, “We will never have sufficient parking spaces so every student could find a place to park.” According to Burrows the proposal is solely to better serve students.
Students said that they want and need better service. One of those on board for better service, Rhenard Miller, a senior at COB, understood the need for parking fees and agreed with the proposal. He said that credits being available at $300 are reasonable and if the college needs to find other means of income without making the prices of credits unreasonably high then students need to understand.
Miller said, “COB is a public institution, and credit’s [aren’t] cheap, so I understand they need to make money for the institution, but it is obvious we need a larger parking lot but the fee wouldn’t bother me, add it to my bill.” He said that students also need to take into consideration the costs incurred during the construction of the new student parking lot, located in the back of the T Block.
According to Burrows the new parking lot estimated over $200,000. He said the decals that would be provided are also expensive. However, Burrows said charging students an additional fee for parking is not intended to recuperate any funds incurred during the construction of the new parking lot.
“Decals [aren’t] expensive. They are just a sticker to put on your car” said Taeva Romain, a former C.O.B student now attending Florida Memorial University. Romain said he was not surprised that an official would call decals expensive but concerned that decals would be needed at all. He said, “At my school if you don’t have a parking decal security checks your ID and you are allowed to park. Once you’re registered to COB you should be able to park. What they should do is enforce security so that parking spots are not taken up by those who are not students of the institution
“COB students pay enough fees for services they don’t receive…the college doesn’t need more money, they need to manage current funds better.”
Though the many COB students said they dread the day they will have to pay parking fees, Francis said, “As it stands, I do not feel that plan will come into play any time soon.”
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