4A: Forming an Opportunity Belief
I believe that it is possible to find parking around campus anytime throughout the day easier than it is right now.
The need is having the ability to find parking space whether your visiting campus or going to class or to study. The people who have this need are students, friends, family, and visitors that visit the campus. The need came from people being towed or being aggravated from a parking violation or being super late to a scheduled meeting. People now either risk the chance of getting a parking ticket/getting towed or students take the bus. I am 100% positive this need is not met and it is still out there for an opportunity to prevail.
Prototypical customer #1: Family member
Prototypical customer #2: Former classmate
Prototypical customer #3: Former classmate
By talking with my parents, they believe in the opportunity as well. When moving me into college, of course they wanted to go explore the campus as well. They didn't go to preview with me so they weren't able to see it. I drove there and couldn't find parking. We asked two people if there is any, and both students said they don't know of any places. All my parents wanted to do was check out the stadium and a couple of the buildings. We ended up driving back to Publix and taking the bus over (as one of the students we asked mentioned). They believe the need is out there because thousands of parents probably have done the same exact thing. It was clear there needed to be a way to park easier around campus. While talking with both students, they both agreed the need is un met. My first classmate said they had to drive their car back home and get a ride back and forth from a friend because they cant keep their car anywhere around campus and they bought a scooter. He said scooter parking is easy but he was only granted one parking space and he needs to keep his scooter there. He lives off campus but close by, so the need is still clearly there. The other student i talked to was an off campus student that lives fifteen minutes away from campus. She mentioned when she meets with her club (AED) she has to park at the parking garage across the other side of the campus and walk over. If it is during the day, she has to deal with the bus to get there and often is late or hurried to get to the bus on time.
My belief is still strong. All three customers gave three different examples of how they all interact differently because of the hassle of parking around campus. When noticing the off campus students who live far away taking the bus, posed another opportunity of transportation service but campus cab I know is present at UF. It is important to take customer feedback critically. If the customers respond to need differently than you personally do, then your opportunity belief might need to be tweaked. The customers i talked to completely agreed with me that parking is a hassle around campus, and if there was an opportunity out there to conveniently find parking, they would look into it.
Hi Thomas! I could not agree with you more!!! I am one of those people who is constantly getting ticketed because I am not in a decal spot. I feel as though we are sort of out of luck because I did pay for a decal and because there isn't enough spaces I am the one that ends up losing out. So therefore I absolutely believe this need is not met.
ReplyDeleteHey Thomas...
ReplyDeleteI don't live there in Gainesville, but I do work at another university in the state of Florida. Parking there is ridiculous as well and even we as staff members have to pay for parking passes. Despite paying around $40/month to park, both the students and faculty still have to trek some distance in order to get to class and/or work and something needs to be done about it.
What do you believe would be a viable solution down there? Parking garages perhaps? I know the cost of constructing them would be significant, but parking fees or slightly increased existing fees may help. Heck, even a few extra dollars added onto the tuition for each hour would likely cover it. Here, we have a smaller, more wooded campus so there is no ability or desire to add asphalt lots or garages, but they could consider more remote lots with trolley or bus transportation in my opinion.
I find this idea a great opportunity since the situation affects almost the majority of UF silently. I have been ticketed twice for packing on the grass and not observing chalk time. All that happened because the parking lot was full. Although it is difficult for students I believe over time we have found a way to go by. However I feel for the visitors, the parents. Its an areas that need to be explored further. Thanks
ReplyDeleteBefore I go into the details of your assignment, I really do believe in your opportunity. The amount of parking spaces on campus especially for cars is so scarce at a time when our university seems to be rapidly growing.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the customers which you chose because it has the range of someone who deals directly with the product firsthand every day and someone who has the need occasionally. I would look into making sure you are maybe making your next couple assignments more specific like a parking garage in a part of campus instead of all of them.
Hello Thomas, I am fully with you on the needs of people parking on campus not being met. Last semester I lived on campus in the Lakeside housing area and I was appalled that there were not enough spots for all the residents that lived in that area. You could potentially find a spot if you were lucky during the day but at night you would have to park at least a good block or two away and that felt dangerous to do because there were not very many lights on the streets and just didn't feel safe. I do pose the question what do you think would be the solution to this is? I know that UF is building a new baseball field over by the southwest recreational area but I wonder why build a new stadium if we already have such a nice stadium like Mckethan? Wouldn't it be better to just accommodate our ever growing student body and make sure there is a place where students could at least park on campus or allow visitors access so we can show off our great school?
ReplyDeleteHello Thomas, I am glad that you have brought this pressing issue to light. I think that I can speak for most UF students when I say that parking is a huge problem, as it is on most college campuses around the country. I think that you bring up great points about finding new alternatives for extra parking. With a campus as spread out as UF, I feel that parking in the campus' epicenter is an extremely valuable asset. It makes more sense for the University to erect a new building in a space as opposed to put a parking lot there. That being said, if the students of UF can speak up more about this issue, I feel we can reach a conclusion in the near future that benefits the student and the university.
ReplyDeleteHi Thomas! I could not agree more. The need has been talked a lot by many individuals such as parents and/or friends of students on college campuses and has been argued even more by the students themselves. From personal experience, it has discouraged students to come to campus to study because it is a struggle to find parking on campus. I’ve even had friends that skip their classes that don’t take attendance because they would have to spend 30+ minutes looking for parking. I understand that it is costly to build parking garages, but maybe the students attending the university could look into fundraising a significant portion of the cost.
ReplyDeleteHello Thomas,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I would like to say this is a great piece. I think this issue needs to be addressed much more at UF! I personally think that an expansion on parking is needed. In my opinion it would come in the form of higher tiered parking garages. If we had a large enough body of students gather to push the issue on campus, something may get done about it.