It’s that time of the semester again at EC where new and returning students face the inevitable: Finding a parking space.
With the reconstruction of Lot H behind schedule because of the weather, only the first two floors are available until 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, making 350 more spaces open.
Police Chief Mike Trevis said the main thing is for students to be patient.
“We go through this at the beginning of every semester. Not only EC, but all colleges do as well,” Trevis said. “You have to factor in the fact that enrollment is up and there are more students than last semester.”
Trevis said the reason the two levels are only open until 4 p.m. is because of safety reasons which stem from the fact that the construction workers leave and officers are afraid that students may get hurt.
“All we care about is the student’s safety,” Trevis said. “If no one is around to see what is going on, we will never know what can happen.”
Sgt. Dal Toruno said that another option students have of finding a parking spot is to come to school early.
“Just like at the beginning of every semester, students have a hard time finding space. That’s just the way it goes,” Toruno said. “A solution to that is to come to school early and be responsible.”
Bob Gann, assistant director of facilities, said with the weather having a huge effect on the construction, the timetable of the structure being finished is now May.
By the summer and fall semester, the structure should be finished and all four levels will be available for use.
“Because of the rain and other issues we have, the target to be done by May,” Gann said.
With the parking issue in full effect during the beginning of this semester, Trevis and Toruno have many issues and concerns about where students decide to park.
First, students should not park their cars at Alondra Park because the Los Angeles County sheriff’s are giving out citations as Alondra parking spaces are for park use only.
“Students are not allowed to park there,” Trevis said. “Citations have been given to those students who ignore the signs.”
With the limited amount of parking spaces, many students are parking in residential areas and Trevis said there have been complaints about EC students not being corteous to the residents, from being too loud or blocking driveways.
“If students decide to park at the residential areas, be courteous to the neighbors because you might even get towed,” Trevis said.
Lastly, students who park on Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Cerise Avenue need to be more careful, especially at night time.
Students are found jaywalking and running across the street.
“The main concern is at Manhattan and Cerise Avenue where people illegally cross the streets,” Trevis said. “We know that the nearest crosswalks are far but it is better than being hit and getting hurt especially at night.”
Toruno and Trevis emphasized that students must stay patient.
“We know it’s a problem that’s affecting a lot of students, even faculty,” Trevis said. “Once everyone settles in, the parking dilemma will die down.”
