FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.- Come this fall semester, students at Broward Community College (BCC) will be faced with a mandatory parking fee that is expected to raise $1.5 million a year toward campus improvements.
Proposed projects include new lighting, maintenance and a 1,000-space parking garage that, according to school officials, could be completed in early 2008.
The additional lot will be the first step in alleviating the parking congestion that students have been experiencing on all BCC campuses, even in the evenings. Among varying reactions from students, the fee increase raises many interesting issues about campus parking in general.
There are disputes among students as to whether or not the various campus lots are located in practical places. Some think the shared lots will not benefit them if they are located on other campuses. Others agree that the improvements are a welcome relief from the over-crowded lots they expect to confront in the fall.
According to a BCC official, students were given the opportunity to object in multiple hearings that took place on campus before the new fees were approved in January.
Students who choose not to drive to school may request an exemption from the fees, but all other students will be expected to pay the fee as a part of their fall class schedule.
