The Short North is not short on parking; it's short on good mass-transit. If the Short North had plentiful parking it would look like parts of downtown with swathes of parking lots and little else. There is not a single city worth visiting that is easy to get around by car, period.
Great cities build with people in mind, not cars. Just imagine any great urban neighborhood in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, etc., getting plentiful parking. Our downtown used to be bustling with people and now it's not. It did not take long for people to find that the parking garages and parking lots that replaced several buildings aren't so fun to hang around.
As an alumnus it saddens me that Ohio State has not pro-actively sought to extend the streetcar line to OSU, which would make it easy for students to experience the most interesting parts of the city without a car. Those without a car, in particular every freshman on campus who is not allowed to have one, would greatly benefit from this increased mobility as the streetcars will be much more frequent than COTA buses. Their car-free options for shopping, eating and services for daily needs greatly increase.
OSU students do not need more parking spaces, they need more streetcar stops. If OSU really wants to encourage students to support local businesses, whether they are in the Short North, downtown, German Village or the Brewery District, they can still offer to put forth funding for the streetcars which will reduce oil consumption, make a little dent in global warming and make Columbus a more attractive place to go to school and live.
As a university of all places, OSU should know that supporting a car-dependent lifestyle is supporting the extremely wasteful use of a very finite supply of oil. OSU ought to do its part to ensure students have an option and cars are not a necessity, especially for students who have already been facing increasing tuition prices.
Keith Morris OSU Alumni '06 Columbus, Ohio
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!