Ask the Economist
“Why can’t I ever find parking at HVCC?”
Unfortunately, we all know that parking is a bit of an issue here at HVCC, even with the five plus parking spaces. It is worse in certain parts of the days than others. The question of limiting the amount of students so everyone can find parking has come up a few times.
Other people have wondered why we are not making room for a parking lot along with the new science building. None of these problems seem to have solutions and it does not look like the school will be expanding on the already huge parking lots.
In the meantime, we, the students and faculty at Hudson Valley Community College, need to make sure that we are personally prepared. We need to do ourselves a favor and get where we need to be, in a timely manner.
The parking at HVCC is a supply and demand issue. Generally, the quantity of parking spaces available, or supplied, is less than the quantity of the parking spaces demanded. However, different times of day allow for different parking situations.
The most popular time for classes at HVCC is early to midmorning. Therefore, that would be the time when the parking lots get filled fastest. At this time, their supply would be lower than demand, so there would be a shortage of parking spots.
In the middle of the day, there would be equilibrium. There just as many parking spots as there are students and faculty who need a parking spot.
Unfortunately the high demand for parking at HVCC brings up some inconveniences for its attendees.
To be prepared, we need to leave our home earlier, which sometimes means less time to get ready in the morning. Another inconvenience is the fact that we might not be able to park the buildings that we are in all day. For example, I like to park in the parking garage because I am in Brahan Hall most of my day.
To shed a little light on the situation, we can think of finding a parking spot like a game. No, it is not fun to be driving in circles looking for a place to put your car, only to be late for your first class. However, there is plenty of room for strategies, risk, luck, and that feeling you get when you have found the perfect spot.
The first strategy that comes to my mind is to get to the school early. That way, you can be positive that you will not be late for your first class. If you give yourself an extra hour, then you should even have time to finish the homework that you forgot to do the night before.
Another strategy, for all of those risk takers, would be getting to the school ten minutes before the next hour. Since most classes end after fifty minutes, there should be a good amount of cars leaving at this time.
I hope that you will be more prepared now and have already come up with your own strategies on how you are going to get to your first class on time tomorrow.