All the trouble you may have had convincing your parents to let you have the car at school may seem like a waste the next time you find yourself entrenched in a complicated parallel parking situation on Grounds.
Second-year College student Gauri Raval voiced the popular opinion that parking on or near Grounds has become such an endeavor that it's often easier to go the old-fashioned way: on two feet.
"I honestly feel like it's more of a hassle [to drive in Charlottesville] with the traffic and the parking," she said.
Raval said she is happy that she doesn't have a car at the University, especially because her five apartment-mates in Lambeth each brought cars and suffered through a parking predicament because they were only guaranteed one space to share.
"The others were put in a lottery for extra spaces and two got them," Raval explained.
Maybe three out of five ain't bad, but Raval's case is a fairly lucky one. First-year College student Caroline Rasmussen said she has had her parents appeal to the administration for permission to have her car here for personal reasons. The administration's negative response pivoted more on the fact that there is "less parking than usual" than Rasmussen's first-year status, she said.
"Regardless of my excuse, there's not enough space," Rasmussen said.
Even those students who are satisfied with their parking situations said they have noticed problems with University parking.
Third-year College student Michael Assante said that he is happy to have a car in town and sees no need to take it to Grounds, but he understands the gripes of fellow students dissatisfied with the expensive on-Grounds permits.
"I could see it being a little unfair," he said.
According to the University's Department of Parking and Transportation Web site, on-Grounds permit prices for students living off-Grounds can range from about $144 to $408 per year, depending on the parking area.
Students who are deterred by this extra expense and choose to park without a permit will have to deal with the threat of having their car towed -- especially once the grace period deadline of Sept. 10 has passed.
Raval points out that because Grounds is often a spot where pedestrians rule, streets congested by strolling students are another reason she doesn't mind a car-less lifestyle.
"I know how I walk on campus," Raval said. "So I don't want to be driving around where people are walking all over the place!"
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