CSU: The Ethicality Of Parking On Campus

A lot of people complain about parking on campus. Parking permits are expensive, $1.75 an hour (for people who don’t have a permit) gets expensive quickly, and the fines for breaking the rules are too high. They can be as much as $45, when the parking fines from the City of Fort Collins for parking too long in a two-hour zone are only $25. It’s not hard to see why people are so irritated. Since the parking lots are property of CSU, CSU has the right to charge people to park in them (it would probably be foolish of CSU to make parking free). Therefore, CSU has the right to charge whatever it wants for parking. However, having the right to do something does not always make it ethical to do that thing. You have a right to insult random people to their faces, but it is still unethical. You have the right to charge whatever price you want for your goods, but not every price is a fair one. As for parking fees and fines, there are many students that have very little

First, high prices deter people who aren’t affiliated with the University or are not guests from parking on campus. If parking prices were too low, patrons of the businesses around campus might park at CSU for lengthy shopping trips. Second, there is plenty of free parking between 4:00 pm and 7:30 am. This allows people to attend student organization meetings and other functions on campus at night without having to worry about parking. Third, the parking facilities are well-maintained. They are clean, and they do not reek of urine like some other parking structures do. In addition to all this, there is a free alternative to parking, and that’s taking the bus. Parking at the South Transit Center is free, and all the bus routes are free to students. It might be inconvenient to take the bus, but things that are convenient (getting to park on campus) tend to be more expensive than things that are not (taking the bus to