Parking sucks at ANU... Anyone surprised?

Indeed the parking at ANU has always sucked, it always caused me to be late most of the time, not that i missed much other than catching up on sleep. North Oval was decent most of the time if you got there at the right time, I did notice that they changed it to a 3 hour zone a couple of years ago, so that probably made more problems.

Get used to it, the parking situation is the same throughout the city since stanhopeless sold off all the carparks for buildings then showed great leadership in neglecting to ensure there was sufficient additional parking, which indeed normally allowed some excess parking for students from the ANU. You can’t get a carpark in city west after 8am and the rest of the carparks along london circuit fill by about 9-10am. Additional levels of the multi-story and the eventual opening of spaces under new buildings (if we’re lucky) in the next year or so may help, but will most likey just be taken by the extra people who occupy those buildings.

Bikes aren’t an option for most unless you live within a reasonable distance, and buses are great, if they were reliable and got you somewhere without going via the scenic route and taking more than an hour for what is a 15 minute drive.

I’m sure that Dr. Watchirs will be telling us that parking is a basic human right…..

There is always heaps of parking available on campus down near Old Canberra House – but of course the whinging students don’t use it because it’s more than 20m from whichever lecture they are attending.

Dry your eyes, Princess.

‘That’s handled by an administrative area staffed by people whose incompetence is exceeded only by their malevolence.’

Sounds like the overflow from any area ruled by Sonic or the arogant inebriate.

mmm yep Tyler – it all sux.

But as long as we live in a city that is designed around cars then we will continue to ask for places to park them when we get where we are going. Pretty simple really.

Now if only our fearless leaders actually had an idea….

When I went to uni, there was heaps and heaps of free parking, and you could always get a park when you needed one.

I just wanted to share that with you all.

C’mon people. The ANU parking sux, Canberra CBD parking sux, Charnwood shops parking sux.

This is hardly a new event!

I’m not sure how ANU’s administration works but I’ve worked in a university and many administrators in the executive level are professors, association professors, deans and what you have. Well, my former boss, a professor, had to approve something as exciting as teaching staff’s campus accomodation. If something is put to their face, it will be considered. Having said that, yes, the non-academic administrators should be the ones who are suppose to come up with some proposals. Obviously, no one care enough to do anything.

UC is just as hopeless. I remember a uni mate who can’t afford to miss a class, couldn’t find a parking spot and had to park on the kerb. Needless to say, he was fined.

What about UC – don’t they have oodles of free parking? People who want a car park friendly uni could go there.
Correction:

People who want a car park friendly TAFE could go there.

Is it still possible to park in the CSIRO parking on the Black Mountain site? There have always been signs there saying staff only, but as far as I could tell there were never any way to tell which car belonged to whom.

And if you were doing Geol, Geog or Forestry etc, it is a minutes walk to lectures. The problems start when you get back an hour late from an afternoon field trip and find your car has been locked in.

canberra bureaucrat said :

bohemian said :

For a campus filled with top-rated academics and administrators, you would think that they’ve come up with a solution or two by now.

Alas, academics brain structures enable them to excel at their topic of interest, but often (not always) to the detriment of prosaic matters like parking.

Academics have nothing to do with parking and the roadnet on campus. That’s handled by an administrative area staffed by people whose incompetence is exceeded only by their malevolence.

If you’re pressed for time and concerned about parking, that’s why the ANU allows you to buy a space in one of the multistory lots. For everyone else, there is arriving early (or late) and knowing that you will not find a spot between 9:30 and 12:00.

They could, perhaps, build new parking lots rather than just removing them from around the science precinct (either by demolition & construction, conversion to pay parking [north oval], staff parking [science car park] or residents only parking [rear science car park]). However, (a) don’t hold your breath and (b) don’t expect any action to cause significant change.

If I were this wee lassie I’d be buying a basic bicycle and a means of carrying it in or on the car, and parking in a street in Turner or O’Connor and riding in. Or perhaps down by the lake somewhere closer to Commonwealth Ave bridge, as I imagine she’d be coming that way. Nice little folding bikes suitable for a 2-3km commute are available for instance I just googled this little beauty http://www.bicyclestore.com.au/Dahon-Eco-1-pr-23134.html for $349.

So problem solved. Next!!!

Remember people, the act of driving and parking wherever the hell you want when you want isn’t a god-given right.

He’s a WITCH! BURN HIM!

The situation isn’t helped by the fact that over the past several years the ANU has worsened the existing parking crisis by bulldozing car parks to build new buildings.
Unilodge 1 and 2, along with a new building out the back of Copland.

canberra bureaucrat said :

bohemian said :

For a campus filled with top-rated academics and administrators, you would think that they’ve come up with a solution or two by now.

Alas, academics brain structures enable them to excel at their topic of interest, but often (not always) to the detriment of prosaic matters like parking.

Many academics live nearby and can ride or walk to work.

It is true that it is difficult to find car parks during the day, a problem faced by part-time students who commute to ANU at various times after 9am.

What about UC – don’t they have oodles of free parking? People who want a car park friendly uni could go there.

bohemian said :

For a campus filled with top-rated academics and administrators, you would think that they’ve come up with a solution or two by now.

Alas, academics brain structures enable them to excel at their topic of interest, but often (not always) to the detriment of prosaic matters like parking.

Parking near the ANU union building, and presumable other parts of the uni, is now 3 hours max. It was all day, and changed just a couple of weeks ago. This should stop those nasty tie wearing office dwellers parking at ANU (dammit!).

ANU parking used to be free for students.

Then they brought in annual parking vouchers that you had to pay for. When they did this , they promised to use the money earned to build a multistorey carpark at ANU, so that everyone who paid for a parking permit would be able to get a spot.

I guess that was an ‘aspirational target’.

ANU parking permits are actually hunting licences. Good luck with finding a spot.

I am finding it hard to muster a lot of sympathy for the person in the CT article, who has had two years to figure out a way around the issues she is experiencing and seems only to have come up with “someone else has to fix it for me”.

There’s a pay carpark on the west corner of London Circuit that always has free spaces.
15 minutes to drive from Mawson to there, 15 mins walk to Robertson = the half hour she has to go from work to lectures.

If you are desperate to drive, then arrive before anyone else thereby ensuring you get a parking place. First in best dressed.

If unable to arrive early, get there by another mode of transport.

Problem solved.

Remember people, the act of driving and parking wherever the hell you want when you want isn’t a god-given right.

Nope, hardly surprising. ANU’s parking spots were indeed scarce, roads too narrow and people can still drive like a maniac at 20km per hour.

For a campus filled with top-rated academics and administrators, you would think that they’ve come up with a solution or two by now.

or riding bikes? i ride the 7km each way every day, rain wind or shine, except for the occasion when i need a car for something later on (about 4 times a year).

free parking, right next to my building, and exercise, and it only takes about 5 mins longer than driving (less if there’s traffic).

when i do drive, i leave early to beat the traffic, and get a carpark next to my building!

Also if you ride and take the bus (particularly good if you need an intertown bus) then you can ride the bus for free! If you’re a part time uni student this should be the best solution because you’re unlikely to face unavailable bike spots on the bus, because you probably aren’t travelling on it at peak times.

AND it would lower congestion.

If you have a wee tike however, i’m sure this information becomes less useful.

Aren’t we all supposed to be using buses?

When Ah wert lad at ANU, we didn’t have to worry baht parkin cos we didn’t have blooody cars, did we, no, we ddn’t, not like these poncy spolit generation-bloody-Yers or what ever they are..tha don’t know tha born!

Proximity to the CBD probably makes it worse, but it’s also difficult in the far western reaches of the campus. The situation isn’t helped by the ACT gov. selling off several large car parks in the CBD in recent years. (Marcus Clark x several, Childers St, Bunda St etc etc.) I’m surprised uni students and DAFF staff aren’t out there punching-on every morning!

Ah yes, the good old days of civic parking.

When I was working in the city about 3 years ago, it cost me $150 for a 6 month student parking ticket. I did this for about 3 years, and was never an ANU student. Pretty cheap in anyones book. I’d imagine the asking price is more than $150 these days.

ANU’s parking is crap, but only because of it’s proximity to the CBD, and the fact that 99 times out of 100 full time office workers will be able to afford to pay more then students, thus pricing them out of the market (or paying them in beer for their parking space).