With the influx of students into the new Humanities Building the first two weeks of the semester, it would have made sense to have the restrooms up and running.

Instead of having access to the no-touch toilets and sinks, students, faculty and staff residing in the building had to walk across campus to the next available restroom, lessening the allure of the anticipated new building.

The plumbing is now fully working, and the restrooms are running as they should, but the issue and the inconvenience it brought pales in comparison with that of parking.

Almost every student will have to visit the Humanities Building for at least one class at one time or another, so it makes no sense that the most visited buildings at EC has no nearby parking lot for students.

To make matters worse, parking lot H, located by the tennis courts, will be closed for at least the rest of the semester beginning March 3, for the construction of a new parking structure.

While the increase from 300 to 1,100 parking spots sounds like a great improvement on the current situation, no actual provisions have been made to account for all the lost spots in the meantime.

Ideas proposed that would create one lane each on Manhattan Beach Boulevards with diagonal parking sound like it might work, but more people than just EC students and staff use the public access roads.

The same is true for leaving cars at Alondra Park, which does not even have that much ample space. Furthermore, Alondra Park is slated for refurbishing.

The fact remains that March 3 is a little more than a week away, and no one seems prepared for the massive change it will bring to the parking situation on campus, both for faculty and students.

It is unsettling that no provisions are yet made for all the displaced students, not to mention staff, who normally park in lot H, and the students who will be displaced by having to park in the existing structure or on the streets.

While it is great that the campus has future students in mind with the planning and construction of new buildings, parking structures and general improvements, current students are cast to the wayside, with the basic need of parking not even being met.

It seems to be in the students’ best interest to make sure that they have a parking spot for their cars, since this may no longer be a guarantee.

Carpooling, public transportation, biking and walking to campus could lessen the parking spot crunch. Too bad that this is the only way to solve the problem.