The residents of Gwynnville will brace themselves for the return of parking misery - the University of Wollongong resumes this week. Once again their suburban streets will become a huge parking lot and in many cases cars will end up blocking driveways and encroach on nature strips. It is not uncommon for cheeky - or desperate - students to enter properties and park on a residents front lawn.
The sad thing is that this is not necessary. We have a " park and ride " system in place - and this involves a free bus. We also have an excellent car pooling offer available to all students. Those who arrive with three or more people in their car are entitled to free parking within the university - and there are five hundred parking spots going begging daily.
Observers must be dispirited to see the usual parade of cars with just a single occupant. It seems that no matter what we do to solve the parking problem, we face the age old curse of each person preferring personal transport over any form of sharing or making a change of thinking.
It is a fact of life that at least half the students attending Wollongong university live within five kilometres of the campus. The fitness people could include that daily journey by way of jogging to improve health, and then there is always the alternative of the good old push bike ! Unfortunately, both pale into insignificance when it comes to the comfort of arriving by car.
Psychologists tell us that the habits we form in childhood stay with us for the rest of our lives. It seems that when Mum or Dad drops us off at school in the car each morning instead of making us walk, take the bus or ride a bike - they are instilling a habit that will make us selfish human beings until we attain old age.
When school days end and university begins - we stick with that same means of transport, and when we leave university to enter the business world, we become just another commuter clogging the nation's highways as a solo driver/passenger in our own vehicle.
Scientific minds and huge amounts of money have been directed at changing those selfish habits - with almost zero effect. As is the case with our university, alternatives are not only available - they are free. But - we choose not to use them !
Back to the drawing board seems the only way if Gwynnville residents are ever to be free of the car parking plague. Perhaps the time is coming when a single person in a car anywhere within a kilometre of the university may be deemed to be committing a driving offence - and fined.
We may have to think beyond the nine dots if we are ever to solve this problem !
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