When President Robert Witt, set a goal to expand the institution’s enrollment to 28,000 by 2013, an overwhelming majority of observers viewed such ambition as laughable and bright-eyed. With the student base around 19,000 in 2003, no one believed such a number could be achieved in such a short time span.

Today, nobody’s laughing; the University reached that goal in 2009, four years ahead of schedule. While the administration deserves high praise for their achievement, the law of unintended consequences has kicked in due to such a rapid expansion. The most observable symptom of this illness can be found in parking, an issue no one has jovially spoken about in the past three weeks.

When I entered the halls of the Capstone as a freshman in 2006, the campus was already teeming with 24,000 enrollees, thanks in large part to what was then the largest freshmen class in the school’s history. Naturally, this caused some problems in parking and traveling through campus, but most of the problems worked themselves out within a month. While I suspect that the fervor will also be mitigated very soon, I am still troubled by the trend developing.

As campus has grown, the number of parking spaces has also grown.

However, the bulk of those increases were in residential spaces. Sure, commuters got new lots by the Student Recreation Center fields and an expanded lot in west campus, but not enough to offset the ballooning population.

Now the chickens have come home to roost, and the school’s infrastructure has reached its breaking point.

After all, it’s easy to recognize the elephant in the room when Parking Services issues 3,124 parking permits when only half that number of spaces, 1,599, actually exists.

To be fair, Mr. D’Esposito was correct in saying that the ebb and flow of commuters means that not everyone is on campus simultaneously, but the notion that only half of west commuters are on campus at any given time defies logic.

Two simple lessons exist: make sure you can provide a reasonable number of spaces, and learn to say no to applicants.

Some students probably view asphalting the entire campus as a way to guarantee parking for everyone, but this only treats the symptom, not the disease.            

True, we may get the Bryce Hospital campus in two years, but we probably will not get any benefits until 2014, when the incoming class will be attending commencement. In the meantime, we have no more land that can be feasibly developed without drastically increasing parking fees. Put simply, the University of Alabama has run out of room and also has run out of time.

While it pains me to say this, reality dictates that we must now look inward for its solution, and this means that banning incoming freshmen from having cars on campus should become a serious option. During my entire undergraduate tenure, this was not an issue, but now The Crimson White is also reporting on the nightmare of parking for residents. Let us not forget, many of these students will become commuters next year, thus perpetuating and expanding our dilemma.

The University is not alone in its predicament. The University of South Florida and UGA, whose populations have also experienced growth, have also been forced to consider a freshmen car ban and Stanford, Maryland and Miami have all adopted such measures.

The biggest issue with implementing this policy would be providing a boost in efficient mass transit for these students. While the CrimsonRide has been the recipient of some well-deserved criticism, such a move might actually liberate the troubled system. Removing 6,000 vehicles a year would significantly reduce the traffic load, leading to the improved efficiency we all have found wanting since the CrimsonRide’s arrival in 2007. 

Many of the opponents of this plan make several points that should certainly be considered. The biggest concerns I’ve heard from colleagues have been recruiting and transport to and from home.

The former worry of losing possible recruits to other schools is actually a nonissue. While the status quo does not present an immediate threat to recruitment, inaction will also lead to a loss of recruits, as an overcrowded and gridlocked campus will discourage prospective students just the same.

Since we are in a Catch-22, it is better to swallow the painful pills now than amplify the discomfort later. The concern of getting students home for the holidays is admittedly more difficult, but I believe the use of a rejuvenated mass transit system can be used to solve the logistics of getting out-of-state students home.

The parents of Alabama residents are easily in range of campus to take them home.

It is well known in science that a population’s growth cannot exceed the resources available. The population of the University of Alabama is no exception, as our critical resource of transportation infrastructure has seemingly evaporated before our eyes. Waiting for the prospects of rescue via new land acquisitions to continue unsustainable growth is irresponsible and only puts a band-aid on the situation.

We’re experiencing some growing pains right now, but I believe solving a dilemma such as this will clearly demonstrate to this state and region why we, as a community, deserve the moniker, “the Capstone.”

Gregory Poole is a graduate student in metallurgical engineering.