More cons than pros to 'alternative fuel' parking

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Posted: 5/27/08

It was a well intentioned, but not too well thought-out idea to reserve parking spaces solely for "alternative fuel" vehicles in the parking lots of De Anza College. It is good, in that it is one of many examples of the school and the district trying to improve students' lives and the environment. But the idea is so full of loopholes and given to abuse that it has left us wondering: What were they thinking?

The parking spaces, which are labeled "alternative fuel vehicles only," are located at the very front of several campus parking lots, including Lots B and C, as well as the Kirsch Center. They are meant to serve as an incentive for De Anza students to purchase fuel-efficient hybrid or electric motor vehicles, or as a reward for those who already own them, and to encourage an overall reduction in fossil fuel use.

This idea is totally impractical. No parking spot, no matter how close to campus, will convince anybody to run out and buy a new car, or change their minds about whatever vehicle they had planned on buying.

This especially applies to students. Anyone planning on attending De Anza probably doesn't plan on being here very long - certainly not more than two or three years at most - and even though this is the Bay Area, and one can regularly find an abundance of super-expensive cars parked at De Anza, not even the exuberantly wealthy would make that kind of a long-term investment knowing they might only be here for six months or less.

Since the perk of parking close isn't motivating anyone to buy the cars, it is really only benefiting those who already own them. "Alternative fuel" vehicles are high technology, guaranteed to be expensive; even used hybrid vehicles sell for very high prices. The reserved spaces are really only benefiting the rich, as most college students, even in the Bay Area, can't afford to buy such expensive vehicles.

The regulation is also virtually unenforceable. What is an alternative fuel vehicle anyway? Would a car running on methane qualify to park in the reserved spaces? Trucks running on diesel fuel have been parking in the spaces, and diesel is technically an alternative to gasoline. Gas guzzling Mercedes and Volkswagens can usually be found parked in the reserved spaces, and officers often will not ticket them. After all, they cannot be expected to carry around a list of all "alternative fuel" car models in existence. De Anza administrators surely do not want to tow away any cars found violating the regulation, as such practice might be seen as extreme and could discourage students from enrolling.

On top of all this, many De Anza staffers have complained that their staff-reserved spaces were taken from them without their approval to make room for the alternative fuel spaces. The staff have a legitimate and dire need for parking that is readily available, easily accessible and as close to campus as possible. Otherwise classes may begin late, which would negate whatever benefit a student may have gotten from parking close.

So why have they limited the spaces to hybrid and electric vehicles anyway? Some older non-hybrid cars get excellent gas mileage whether on freeways or city streets, and they can be bought much cheaper than any hybrid. A better system would be to designate parking spaces by fuel efficiency, the spaces closer to campus being reserved for the cars that get the most miles per gallon. Such a system would be just as infeasible as the current, however, as officers cannot be expected to know which cars belong where; the only advantage of doing it this way is that it would be far more effective in terms of encouraging environmentally sound behavior.

All in all, the "alternative fuel" parking was an attempt by De Anza College to do the right thing, but there are so many negative aspects to the system that it would just be better if the spaces were given back to the staff. As the policy now stands, De Anza students who happen to be well off are supplied with premium parking privileges, while the students who are broke are left to fend for themselves.

Earth-conscious students should be rewarded for their efforts to improve the environment, but not for whatever cars they may drive - if people really want to make a difference with what they drive, they can buy a bicycle.