Editorial: Focus on the real problem

There aren't enough spaces to meet demand.

Prices, although far lower than projected market value, remain much too high for an average student budget.

And because of a lack of foresight and planning, building new garages and other high density solutions to the parking quandary remain a thing of the future - on the drawing board only.

You know this. We know this. Even the University of Arizona parking she-god Marlis Davis knows this. And Lord knows we've spent more than enough time during recent history ranting and raving about it in this space.

So why have these rants and raves returned?

Because now they want to get rid of the few free spaces that remain around campus and University Medical Center - and it's not even Marlis Davis and her devious band of pesky Parking and Transportation Services enforcement officers.

This time it's the city of Tucson.

The city, which legally owns the streets and byways on and around campus, planned to charge between $300 and $800 for parking along East First and Second streets and a smattering of residential streets west and north of campus. East First and Second streets are now out of the plan - assuming a compromise between the city and UA officials goes through - but the city still has plans to move in on outlying campus areas, including East Helen and Mabel streets, in February.

The Associated Students have vehemently denounced the plan with a paper resolution and lobbying - to no effect whatsoever. Now ASUA and various clubs are circulating a petition in hopes of getting Tucson Mayor George Miller's attention.

These are good steps and we laud their actions - but not their apparent intentions. The UA student government appears to suffer from the same ailment as Marlis Davis and other UA officials opposed to the city parking plan: the NIMBY syndrome.

Short for "Not In My Back Yard," the NIMBY syndrome afflicts not only American homeowners concerned about urban blight in their neighborhoods, but also student governments and university parking gurus more concerned with superficial control than addressing the true underlying problems. This looks to be the case here.

The real battle ought not be over a smattering of free spaces, but rather about why students, faculty and staff alike pay up to $400 a year to park. Why is there a mile-long waiting list for Zone 1 permits? Questions like these persist without limit.

All things being equal, it appears that the only affordable form of transportation that would work within the current UA system is of a two-wheeled variety. Motorcycle parking only costs $35 a year and there are multiple spots all over campus. But the propensity for broken bones and gaping head wounds is just too much for most.

In short, the city's plan is a bad idea, but not because Tucson is "encroaching" on UA land as some would have you believe. It's a bad idea because it reduces even the small number of free spaces that provide limited respite for low-income UA drivers - all for the small price of showing up at 7 a.m. every day.

ASUA and Marlis: Keep up your opposition to the city's plan, but please keep in mind that there are larger issues than a smattering of free spaces. Try lobbying for real change in the overall parking quandary soon. The students, faculty and staff will thank you.