Opportunity Belief

My Thought: I believe that there is an opportunity to solve the problem of parking at UF. There is simply not enough convenient and affordable parking, especially for off campus students.

Description: After looking into the problem, I've noticed that this consensus isn't new. There's a article in The Gainesville Sun about the parking situation from 2005, which is over a decade ago. In order to meet this need, some landlords are including parking spot fees in their tenant's rent. Other people are renting out parking spaces to students, for a considerable fee of course. I think that there is a better way to go about solving this problem, one that won't cost students a fortune or require them to spend hours looking for a spot. I am very certain that the majority of students who live off-campus would agree that parking is an issue.

The Customer: The customer would be students who live off-campus or who don't have a UF parking decal. Also, friends, relatives, and anyone else who lives/frequents Gainesville and doesn't want to have to constantly be concerned with parking.

Iteration No. 1: First, I spoke with my roommate. Our apartment complex does not have  parking spots included in our rent. However, for an expensive extra charge, you can opt to purchase a spot though the complex. Due to the cost, neither me or any of my 3 roommates decided to take that deal. The one roommate whom I spoke with said that she becomes most aware of her parking dilemma when she wants to use her car to go somewhere. She's been experiencing this issue since she came back to
Gainesville this year; last year she lived on campus and had an on campus parking decal. She aware of how overcrowded the parking is once all the students came back for the Fall. She attempted to solve her parking problem by looking on Craigslist for a parking spot to rent. However, she was too late and the only spots available were either too far or too pricy. Instead, she just purchased a neighborhood parking decal and must result to fighting for a spot anytime she wants to move her car. She said that she is ok with her parking situation, but would prefer a better alternative as her current situation makes moving her car nearly impossible. She said, "What's the point in having a car if I can't use it to run errands or do things?"

Iteration No. 2: I talked to a friend of mine who lives in a different off-campus apartment complex. His complex includes a parking fee in his rent, but only grants the tenets two parking spaces to split between the four roommates. Three of them have cars and have had to work out a solution, even though they are all already technically paying for spots. Their solution has been to switch off every two weeks. My friend says that, while this solution works as a compromise to keep the peace, they all now have to try to figure out where to park their cars when it isn't their turn to have a spot. He has had this issue since move in and said it's the most inconvenient when he needs access to his car, but it's not outside his apartment and he needs to ask someone to get a ride there. When it's not his turn to park his car in a spot, my friend has chosen to risk getting towed and park for free at his friend's apartment complex where parking is loosely monitored. He said while his solution is currently working for him, he would like another option so that he doesn't have to worry about the possibility of being towed.

Iteration No. 3: For my final conversation, I spoke to my friend who lives in a different apartment complex with included parking and is a senior. She has had to deal with the off-campus parking situation for two years at t
his point so I figured she would see it in a bit of a different light. Currently, because parking is included in her rent and there is enough parking spots to accommodate all of her roommates, she doesn't experience the issue of city parking on a daily basis. However, she said that she did experience issues in previous years when she didn't have a provided parking spot.

Reflection: I learned that my opportunity is popularly held to be an issue to those who use city parking or who don't have a permanent parking spot. Those who have a spot, either by purchasing one or through their lease, don't have to deal with the issue of public parking.

Summary: I think that the opportunity is still there to an extent. Some kids would benefit from more public parking, but it would only be helpful if the price could be low enough to compete against the other parking options. Furthermore, I don't know if people would be willing to opt into some sort of alternative parking option, such as a private parking garage, and if it could be built close enough to be a useful solution.