Heck I think my parking pass was $80 25 years ago at high school. $20 seems cheap!
Paying for parking
- Thread starter ATex7239
- Start date
Patman
Staff member
One thing that bothers me a lot is how much they charge for parking at hospitals, it’s outrageous. Same with at a lot of medical clinics too. Today I had to go for bloodwork and instead of paying for parking I parked five minutes away at a home renovation store. Why are these places even charging for parking anyway? 
They don’t charge you for parking at the grocery stores or the malls
They don’t charge you for parking at the grocery stores or the malls
It costs money to maintain a parking lot. The only reason commercial parking is generally free is your there to spend money. Most street parking places used to have meters?One thing that bothers me a lot is how much they charge for parking at hospitals, it’s outrageous. Same with at a lot of medical clinics too. Today I had to go for bloodwork and instead of paying for parking I parked five minutes away at a home renovation store. Why are these places even charging for parking anyway?
However If I go to the main hospital downtown they validate - it costs $3. Everywhere else in their system is free. Downtown makes sense because parking downtown Charleston is a premium. In fact they don't have enough parking for staff and encourage them to use the bus. Medical staff get free bus passes.
Many largely populated places in DFW only charge for public parking during working days and hours if at all. Private lots charge all the time.
That’s crazy expensive when you adjust for inflation.
Maybe I’m being a Karen here. Just does not make sense to me to have to pay for parking as a student in public school. I drove in high school, but I don’t remember paying for a parking pass. Maybe I did and just didn’t care cause I was excited to have wheels or something.
Anyways. I’m gonna pay for the pass obviously cause we didn’t buy him a car for it to sit in front of my house.
Anyways. I’m gonna pay for the pass obviously cause we didn’t buy him a car for it to sit in front of my house.
You've never been to the hoity-toity MacArthur Center (shopping mall) in Norfolk, Virginia, then. The closest parking is in a parking garage that charges a fee. When the mall first opened, businesses in the mall validated parking if you bought something, but the practice quickly ended.
We didn't pay for parking when I was in Highschool. We also took our rifles to school, and kept them in our lockers so we could go shooting after school.
Because there is a limited amount of parking and it cost money to keep it maintained (just like a roof and driveway). If they don't need parking they don't have to pay to use it and they can take buses or walk. Imagine if there is only 300 parking spot but they have 350 students, how do you determine who gets to use it or who needs it?
Not sure about your area but in my area sidewalks are responsible for the people who own the place right in front of it, even though it is public. If you don't have to maintain it it is the public part and your property tax would pay for its maintenance.
If it is only $40 a year it is likely a policy to reduce demand so people don't drive and park if they have options. It is not just about parking but also the traffic congestion entering and exiting the school parking too.
Lot has plenty of spots available. Walking and buses don’t have fees. Those aren’t free. Sidewalks and the grass have upkeep. Buses are self evident. By that logic there should be a fee for walkers and bus riders too.
The largest congestion is caused from the drop off and pickup lines. Fewer kids drive themselves than are dropped off/picked up by a long shot.
Look bro, I understand that you are frustrated. I was frustrated when I was in school having to pay for parking as well when the student fee is paying for free buses.
The point is, there is a cost to parking and there is a cost to pickup drop off and buses. I am not sure how Texas math works out in transit but if you think it is a big issue you probably can gather enough people to protest it and ask the school to change it. However you may also find parents with opposite opinions to go against yours, that's everywhere.
Maybe you will win, maybe they will drop that $40 for everyone after a $200k court case or ballot measure that cost the district $50 per spot, I don't know but these days every measure out there has a cost that is ridiculous and I'd rather not think about those stuff. Maybe I'm used to different transportation cost structure. I can't understand how people afford $200/month toll road cost despite the cheap gas and $40 parking permit. I'm sure if I move to Texas I would get used to it after 5 years and a Texan moving to California would have similar but opposite frustration if move here.
The point is, there is a cost to parking and there is a cost to pickup drop off and buses. I am not sure how Texas math works out in transit but if you think it is a big issue you probably can gather enough people to protest it and ask the school to change it. However you may also find parents with opposite opinions to go against yours, that's everywhere.
Maybe you will win, maybe they will drop that $40 for everyone after a $200k court case or ballot measure that cost the district $50 per spot, I don't know but these days every measure out there has a cost that is ridiculous and I'd rather not think about those stuff. Maybe I'm used to different transportation cost structure. I can't understand how people afford $200/month toll road cost despite the cheap gas and $40 parking permit. I'm sure if I move to Texas I would get used to it after 5 years and a Texan moving to California would have similar but opposite frustration if move here.
$20 per semester is dirt cheap. I paid more than that when I was in high school 20 years ago. I'd pay and move right along down the road.
I think I would have paid like $110 per quarter back in the late 90s. I just bike and took the bus instead.
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Ah, welcome to America,
I know the feeling though, I complain about several annoying cash-grabs myself that in the end I just pay, haha.
$20? That’s dirt cheap! Wait till he goes to college
More than likely it's a school budget thing and an ongoing fight that's been going on for decades. It was there before your kid(s) entered school and will be there after they graduate.
You get voters who get ahold of the proposed next years school budget and go down it line-item by line-item to strip, what to them, are superfluous luxuries. Anything not required by law is on the chopping block or has to fight for its existence every darn year. Most of these voters are retired and have time for this stuff as well as the budget meetings that are 4pm on a Tuesday and hard for the working man (or parent) to attend.
So when they proposed a parking lot eons ago, they had to make it pay for itself via user fees.
You get voters who get ahold of the proposed next years school budget and go down it line-item by line-item to strip, what to them, are superfluous luxuries. Anything not required by law is on the chopping block or has to fight for its existence every darn year. Most of these voters are retired and have time for this stuff as well as the budget meetings that are 4pm on a Tuesday and hard for the working man (or parent) to attend.
So when they proposed a parking lot eons ago, they had to make it pay for itself via user fees.
