Y. students losing street parking

The council and a local attorney said students have a legal way out of their leases if their landlords don't provide enough parking for them in their complexes.

The problem began years ago when the condo and apartment complexes failed to provide enough parking for residents on their property. That has forced the students who live there and attend BYU, Utah Valley State College and area vocational schools, or residents who are are working and live there to be near college students, to park on neighborhood streets.

The residents of the homes in those neighborhoods told horror stories during Tuesday night's public hearing. Leo Teemant said groups of college-age men regularly park on his street, troop through his family's yard at 1 a.m. and jump a 6-foot fence.

"To make it easier," he said, "they kick out the fence in our back yard." Others said they have been treated rudely. In all, more than 40 people on both sides spoke before the council's votes.

Students complained Tuesday night the new permit programs would leave no place for their families and friends to park when they visit. Stewart said the programs are works in progress and he and other city leaders will consider adding parking on one side of the street on Seven Peaks Boulevard to provide a little relief.

At times the debate devolved into heavily partisan stereotyping. One resident, who works at BYU, described a pleasant conversation with a BYU student that drove home the need for both families and students in Provo.

After listening to the problems the woman's family experiences with students parking in its neighborhood, the student told her she should consider moving.

"You always say, 'What would BYU do without students?"' the woman said to students in the meeting. "I say, 'What would BYU do without professors?"'BYU President Cecil Samuelson recently urged Utah Valley leaders to remember that not all college-age students in the valley are BYU students. The university also has made all parking on campus free to students in an effort to alleviate problems in surrounding neighborhoods.

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com