The solution to the parking problem isn’t more parking, it’s a tram.
First of all, the parking lot by the library should have stayed a parking; a ‘green-space,’ filled with the most water-wasting grass when prexies exist, is a waste of space. The space remaining for parking would especially help people with mobility issues and physical disabilities get to Coe, the Student Union, and other nearby buildings.
But that lot wouldn’t fix the parking problem. It would only lead to more people driving and more people unable to find parking. This is the principle of induced demand, and in addition, there’s not a lot of room near campus to put these lots. Even if there was, do we want Laramie to turn into a sea of concrete, looking apocalyptic each summer when the cars all leave?
We don’t need more and more parking. We need infrastructure that allows students to avoid parking.
First off, protective, separate bike lanes would help students feel safe enough to bike onto campus. Especially with electric bikes (and current gas prices), getting to campus without a car is faster and cheaper than ever (although driving electric scooters and bikes from class to class is a bit annoying for pedestrians).
Second, increasing the number of bus stops around town and adding well-lit, heated bus stops would ease students’ fear of riding at night and help them get to class off-campus. The buses are slow, too big for the roads, but too small for the morning rush from Bison Run. Having a higher number of smaller buses that go to other parts of town would greatly help the parking problem.
But finally, and most lofty of all, we need a tram.
A tram could service on-campus and off-campus transportation, circling prexies going by the dorms, the Buchanan Center, Bison Run, and maybe making it all the way downtown. This makes it far more versatile than buses could ever be.
This would therefore alleviate the pressure that the buses face and allow them to focus on areas other than the east and west lots, serving more students and reducing the need to drive.
This could help students get to class faster, especially those who are traveling from the Buchannon Center to the main campus. Music students tend to be ultra-isolated from the rest of the UW community.
Trams have a higher upfront cost due to the required infrastructure, but they would cost less to maintain than the bus system, with a lower energy demand.
Despite what philosophical thought-experiments suggest, trams (more often referred to as trollies in the US and Canada) are safer for pedestrians than other modes of transport and don’t obstruct pedestrian paths like multi-lane roads.
Trams are low to the ground, making it easier for wheelchair users and people with strollers to board compared to buses. This increases accessibility and independence of mobility for students across campus.
Cars are expensive, and there’s little space to keep them for freshmen who choose to drive. Laramie and UW should focus on making it easier not to drive, rather than fighting the ever-loosing battle of parking.
Now, is any of this likely to happen? The bike lanes, maybe, will slowly improve over time. The buses could possibly become more effective depending on how well UW can work with the city.
But the tram? It would be hard to convince UW to spend the money on the infrastructure needed for an adequate tram system, but hey, a car-hater can dream.
