I am writing to protest Washington State University Vancouver’s forward march to locate 300 parking spaces in the area that WSUV shares with neighboring Mount Vista homes. Homeowners say WSUV presented them a choice a few years ago between having a multistory parking garage or merely a sea of cars just beyond their backyards.
The WSUV master plan says that it aims “to set an example of environmental responsibility” (p. 1), as well as “to allow for development to occur in a manner that does not adversely affect the community, and to protect the natural and physical assets of the campus” (p. 2). The university is violating its own principles with this project both by creating an eyesore for their neighbors and by allowing the campus landscape to be degraded as it is overwhelmed by cars.
WSUV should build a well-sited, multi-story parking garage, preferably toward the front of the campus so all those cars need not drive up the hill and around the loop road, causing congestion, noise and a sea of cars on campus. Alternatively, they could site it in an existing parking lot not near houses. WSUV should set a good example and not contribute to urban sprawl.
Pamela W. Webster
Ridgefield