A midday parking forum Tuesday offered students and employees a chance to air their lingering grievances about West Campus' parking situation.
The event-hosted in the Bryan Center by the University's parking consultant, Barbara Chance-focused primarily on the complaints of graduate students, who made up the majority of the small gathering.
"I think the biggest problem for us is we started talking about the immediate issues in August-and still no solutions were implemented," said sixth-year biology graduate student Tomalei Vess, ombudsman of the Graduate and Professional Student Council.
Both students and Chance pointed fingers at the administration for the current plan's weaknesses.
"The University didn't institute our recommendations," Chance said. "In some ways, we were as surprised as you were about the eventual recommendations."
Several times, graduate students raised concerns about the lot locations.
"I hope that they realize our building is the farthest away from where we park," said Lori Norton, a graduate student in the Pratt School of Engineering.
Some suggested a busing system that would frequently pick up people from the lots, but others questioned the cost-effectiveness of such a plan.
Too much and too little ticketing also seemed to irritate the graduate students in attendance.
"I have paid my $80, I have tried to find a legal parking space, and on top of this, I get a ticket," Norton said.
Others complained that some illegally-parked vehicles were not ticketed. However, Assistant Chief Charles Nordan of the Duke University Police Department pointed out that students should report violations so that spaces remain available for those who have paid for them.
Bicycling and public transportation were mentioned as ways of avoiding present problems; however, neither of these proposals was well-received.
Most agreed that the University would have to make significant changes in the long run to address lingering parking problems.
"Eventually, Duke is probably going to have to go to garages," Chance predicted.
Chance said she would like to build garages that include other facilities, such as a restaurant or offices.
Only six people came for the start of the event in a room for 69, although the number of attendees eventually reached double digits.
"[The poor turnout] has nothing to do with lack of interest," said Pratt Associate Dean Bill Staedeli. He said other factors, such as miscommunication and other commitments, kept more students from coming.
Administrators and students now will await the results of a revised parking allocation system set to be implemented this week.
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