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In search of the elusive spot
OUT OF SPACE: Some drivers are resorting to illegal parking because of the shortage. PHOTO | IRWIN TAN
Illegal parking is on the rise as drivers say parking spaces are increasingly hard to find LEUNG KA YUN KYLE STUDENT and staff drivers are finding it even more difficult to look for available lots on campus this semester. A lthough the number of bu i ld ings has increased to accom modate t he g row i ng student and staff population over the past few years, the same cannot be said for parking lots. Despite a sign if icant increase in parking lots with the construction of N2.1, a threestorey car park near Canteen A, drivers still have to circle around the area to search for a legal spot. “The car parks are almost certain to be packed throughout office hours. The free car parks would be more than full,” said Linus Neo, 23. The third-year student from the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering usually parks near his school, at car park E, where parking is free of charge. University employees such as Desmond Woo, manager of the Global Immersion Program, do not find parking an issue because of his working hours. “There is no problem finding a parking lot as long as I come
before 8.30a.m., although usually after 9a.m. there would be no more lots available,” he said. With the car parks full, the incidence of parking on the side of the road — sometimes illegally — has become more common this semester as drivers come up with various solutions to find a way around their parking woes. Neo, for example, has at times resorted to parking on double-yellow lines when he is unable to fi nd an unoccupied lot.
The car parks are almost certain to be packed throughout office hours. The free car parks would be more than full. Linus Neo, 23 School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Year 3
“Once, I came back to see the car in front of me wheelclamped, so I was very lucky,” said Neo. “I don’t think the school has enough (clamps) because there are just too many vehicles parking along the double-yellow lines everywhere.” The Chronicle observed that places where drivers are not
charged for parking their cars, near North and South spines, were fully occupied during office hours on a weekday with many vehicles parked illegally along the kerb. “The (parking) situation is definitely worse this semester,” said Cedric Ang, 22. Previously, he could find a parking lot with relative ease at the Innovation Centre car park, next to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences where he studies. Presently, he has to travel to the NTU Childcare Centre, next to International House, to find an unoccupied lot. This is an additional ten minutes walk to his school. Jewl Tan, 23, also found herself in a similar predicament. She drives to school once a month and would drive every day if not for the acute lack of parking lots in and around the newly built School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (SPMS). “Many times, the nearest available parking lot I can find is at Hall 4,” said the fourthyear SPMS student. Hall 4 is a seven-minute walk away from SPMS, without shelter from the elements. “I wouldn’t mind paying two to three dollars per entry to the car park if it means that I can get to park near my school.” T he Of f ice of Faci lit ies Planning & Management was still looking into the matter at press time.