Ball State University is a big campus in a not-so-big city. When students flood to Muncie every fall, they overwhelm stores, restaurants, apartment buildings ... and city streets.
If the Muncie City Council votes Monday to pass the proposed regulations that would limit parking to only one side of some near-campus roads, that massive flow of commuting students will have no place to go.
Parking problems are inevitable, but controlling those problems must start with the students who park on those neighborhood streets, the students whose cars are causing a problem to near-campus residents, the students who could possibly stand to find another means for getting to school.
Instead of complaining about the parking ordinance, if it passes, students should take matters into their own hands -- or steering wheels.
With public transportation available all over Muncie via MITS buses, students shouldn't have too difficult a time finding a way to campus. Beyond that, many students who don't purchase a commuter pass could walk, ride bikes or find other students to arrange car pools with, in order to save space on those precious residential curbs. Leave the curb-side service to the people who pay rent or property taxes along those streets, don't use it as a way to make your walk to class more convenient.
While it may be easier to whine about parking tickets and continue firing up your engine to drive those six blocks to school, the benefits that alternative means of transportation would offer the Muncie community, city-university relations and the environment as a whole would certainly outweigh the few extra minutes you might spend on your drive.
Besides, not following parking restrictions and continuing to clog residential streets can only lead to stricter parking regulations in the future -- and nobody wants that.
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