METRONEWS
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Early bird gets the park

Lachie McLeod
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Ara's Barbadoes St car park  Lachie McLeod

Students are annoyed with the lack of carparks provided by the Ara Institute of Canterbury.

Car parks are, as always, a hot topic among Ara students.

With very few parks available, students are finding it hard to secure a park before class starts each morning.

Student Isaac Carter said parking was going to be a "doozy" when everyone was back on campus. The bulk of Ara students are scheduled to return to class at the end of this week, which means the parking dilemma will not be driving away anytime soon.

"If you don't get a park by 8.30am, you are going to struggle," he said.

Carter said parking was a "money maker" and that "$5 a day is far too steep".

The central Ara campus has eight car parking sites. Some are reserved for staff.

Health Centre staff member Lisa Richards said there were two car parks for health centre staff and she felt "lucky" to be able to get a park.

She agreed with Carter there weren't enough parks for students and that $5 was "too expensive for students".

Currently parking is free however, usual rates are five dollars a day.

Ara's Facilities Management team could not be reached for comment.