Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Living on Fraternity Row is great. Living on campus makes life much easier whether it is getting to class or getting food. However, many people (including myself) who live on Fraternity Row who drive a car or scooter suffer from the same problems- the limited parking and the small spaces.

The who: Students living on Fraternity Row

The what: Students living on Fraternity Row have a very limited amount of spots to park their car or scooter in, and these spots are very tight. Many pick-up trucks in these spots park over the lines due to the size of the spots and make it difficult for other cars to park in the spaces around them.

The why: Many students living on Fraternity Row have either a car or scooter and need places to park. With small spaces and a large variety of the types of vehicles that park in these spots, students living on Fraternity Row suffer and are not always able to park.

Testing the who: People who currently live on Fraternity Row and drive either a car or scooter suffers from this need. Some people suffer a bit more than others if they have a larger vehicle such as a pick-up truck.

Testing the what: In order to test the what, I plan on asking people on Fraternity Row questions such as: “Do you suffer from the parking on Fraternity Row?”, “What do you think of the size of the parking spaces for both scooters and cars?”, “Does the parking affect your daily actions and impact your schedule” and “Do you think this problem can actually be solved or is it just an inconvenience?”.

Testing the why: I plan on testing the why by asking questions to figure out how passionate students really are about the parking situation on Fraternity Row. Questions include- “How does the parking situation impact your day?”, “What do you think should be done about this situation?”, “Do you think the parking situation needs to change?”, and “Do you think there is a problem with the spots or the overall amount of spaces, if you think there are any problems at all?”.

Interview 1 Findings:

·      Very difficult to find spaces to park at certain times of day

·      Parking is always a “mission”

·      Spots are very tight and if you have a truck you are “screwed”

·      Spots should be bigger

Interview 2 Findings:

·      Always a hassle parking

·      Finding a spot to park or even parking in general can take up to 10-15 minutes

·      Spots are awful

·      Sometimes cars are so close to each other that opening your door to get out results in a scratch on your or another person’s car door

Interview 3 Findings:

·      Easy to find spots at night but any time during the day is a struggle to find a spot

·      Has trouble finding a spot where you can park inside the lines with his truck

·      Says he has gotten ticketed for parking outside the lines, claims it was due to the size of his truck

Interview 4 Findings:

·      Does not have car but thinks spots should be bigger

·      Says friends with cars hate parking in lot

·      Believes there should either be another lot to park in or total renovation of the current spots is necessary

Interview 5 Findings:

·      Says he “despises” the size of the spots in the parking lot

·      Says finding a spot isn’t the issue, just finding a spot near his fraternity house

·      Says that parking has no impact on his daily routine or schedule

·      Thinks the only problem is with the size of the spots

Given the interviews I conducted, I learned much more about the opportunity I did not know before. I realized that not everybody suffers from the same issues when it comes to parking on Fraternity Row. One of the main issues that was identified by all the people I interviewed though was the size of the spots. I also know now that it depends on the time of day for parking to actually affect people. I can see that the need for larger parking spots is there but a solution is still unclear.