Editor’s note: This article is part of a series that will focus on campuswide problems.

Leaving the parking lot after class on a Wednesday morning last week, the student did not see the motorcyclist coming until it was too late. The collision that ensued was bad enough to send a man to a hospital.

With cars observed driving at speeds at around 40 miles mph, car robberies and an accident sending a student to the hospital all occurring within a one-week period, people are questioning the safety of campus parking areas.

“Half the time I see people driving too fast; some drivers stop, but not all,” Michael Tuason, respiratory care major, said. “If people drove slower it should be safe. I just feel like someone is going to get hurt or killed some day.”

A road connecting Lot L and F currently features a speed limit indicator sign that notifies drivers how fast they are traveling. Cars have been recently observed traveling the road and parking lots at speeds significantly higher than the limit.

Anna Portilla, American Sign Language major, was one of these students as she headed home for class Wednesday afternoon, driving approximately 10 miles above the 15 mph speed limit enforced throughout the campus.

“I got distracted; I was at twenty-five (miles per hour). I was listening to something I didn’t want to on the radio,” Portilla said. “I saw the sign and it’s great. It helps me slow down; I do promise I usually go slow. The sign helps a lot, it helps to slow down.”

In addition to the driving habits of those parking on campus, another potential safety hazard exists in the form of overgrown brush and foliage, specifically in Lot L, which in some cases has grown over 6 feet tall and can’t be seen through at night.

“Periodically, I take the whole crew out and hit (Lot L) as much as I can. I figured something on the outskirts might not be as noticeable as the main areas,” said Joel Saldana, grounds operations supervisor, who oversees parking lot maintenance including brush clearing and hedge trimming.

“I appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding; we’re shorthanded everywhere on campus and are doing the best we can,” Saldana said.

The last time bushes on the perimeter was cleared and hedges were trimmed in Lot L was three months ago after Sgt. Dal Toruno requested it be done, which he says the department occasionally does.

“They try to keep it as clear as possible,” Toruno said. “It’s relatively safe for the most part; we have some fender benders, but those can happen in any parking lot.”

Toruno said that with as many students as the college has, drivers need to be attentive to traffic laws.

“It is not worth getting to class on time if you run over three people,” Toruno said.