Opinion: LBCC students should pay for parking

LBCC should continue to charge its students for a parking permit because it allows the college to fund the salaries of various student assistants and maintain its secure parking structures.

Although the charge has stopped amidst the pandemic, LBCC usually charges its students $30 during the fall and spring semesters for a parking permit, while the winter and summer fees are $20. 

Compared to other four-year universities, LBCC’s parking fees are fair when we contrast the parking fees from campuses such as California State University, Los Angeles, which currently charges their students around $50.  

These fees greatly increase when we move onto schools like the University of California, Irvine, which charges around $400 for student parking.

As shown in the annual and financial budget report, part of the revenue received from parking permits goes into the wages of maintenance workers who oversee the various parking sites at both LBCC campuses, which is why removing these fees would affect them. 

The budget report indicates that the school makes an estimated $1.1 million per year from parking services and public transportation. 

The parking service coordinators make themselves responsible for the safety of the students’ vehicles through the Student Assistant program. 

This program is used to enforce the rules and safety of students’ vehicles and offer jobs to several student assistants each semester. They go around campus with the ability to answer the questions that visitors might need answered about the parking or campus. 

A part of the income from the parking fees also goes towards salaries for parking services coordinators and funding for the Viking Shuttle, which provides transportation services for students at both campuses.

“LBCC uses the parking fees to maintain the parking lots and to make repairs such as restriping, resurfacing, repairs or upgrades to the parking meters,” said Lubert Iglesia, the parking services coordinator. 

Many might argue that theft is high, there are many accidents, and that parking might be too expensive for some. 

One of the main reasons behind charging students for parking permits is to, “provide students, staff and the surrounding community accessibility to a safe and inviting learning environment,” as stated on the LBCC campus parking page on the website.    

Students who choose to park their vehicle outside of campus may be more likely to become victims of crime outside of campus, where there is less security. 

As it is shown on the Neighborhood Scout website, Long Beach’s crime rate is higher than 82% of the state’s cities and towns of all sizes. 

Accidents are bound to happen at one point or the other, but if an accident were to occur at a LBCC parking location, they could be dealt with easier by security. 

Cutting parking fees permanently could help students save a few dollars every semester, but it is more beneficial to keep these fees, as they come to support many staff members and students in ways we may not at first notice.