My name is Kurt Robson, and I am one of the firm believers that Falmouth University’s parking scheme is broken, and it’s lack of seemingly any compassion for student drivers doesn’t make it any better.
With student numbers growing at a fairly steady climb, you would think that Falmouth University would start taking the parking crisis a little bit more seriously. Everything being so spread out is a very noticeable downfall of bring a student here, and thus the people in charge should be doing everything they can to help the problem. The public transport links, like the 1 pound bus, are okay for people who don’t mind consistently being late to lectures. But the truth is, if you haven’t got a car down here, you’re extremely set back.
An unnamed university lecturer had a parking ticket wrongly stuck on his car recently, although there was no fine involved, the glue in which it was stuck allegedly took twenty minutes to scrape off. It’s fair to say he was slightly pissed off.
Now in comes Dan Basil Collins, President of Exeter’s Conservative Society and a recent victim of the parking crisis in Falmouth.
An increase in students, means an increase in cars and an increase in cars means less space to park. This is what caused an evidently very angry neighbour to leave an abusive note on Dan’s and his housemates windscreen; claiming they went to “working class universities” and that they must have “rather low intelligence”. All due to the fact that they had parked in the road in front of their student home.
I spoke to Dan about why he thinks this is happening, and what the University could be doing to stop it.
Is this the first you’ve heard of Locals doing something like this?
I have lived at an address on Trewarton Road for some time, and sometimes I have to park on the road outside my home. I awoke to find a note had been left on my car by a neighbour (whom I do not know). This is not the first I have heard of it. My housemate’s car was also targeted, along with another housemate’s mother’s car.
Have you had any complaints before?
These people are too cowardly to confront us in person, and so resort to this type of behaviour. I have lived on this road for 5 months now, with my car always being on the road somewhere.
Why do you think this is happening?
This is happening because students have parked on this road and walked to uni before, so they assume that any car is someone who does not live on the road. Why they are resorting to insults we don’t know. Rather ironic with the words used really.
Is there anything the University could do to stop it?
The University could release a statement acknowledging the conflict and meet with some residents and make it clear it is not acceptable. I have approached the University and thus far there has been no action.
How is this going to get better?
The only way it will get better is for the road to meet us. I have endeavoured to meet our neighbours and we have a really good relationship with our next-door neighbours. The university can do what I previously stated.
If we as a student body and local residents want to live harmoniously together, we have to turn our concerns to the people who can make the difference, the University. Creating unnecessary angst between one another won’t get us anywhere. A message to any angry locals: don’t be sour that we’re parking in your spaces, it’s not our fault. You only have to deal with us for a few years, then we’ll be off packing shelves.