Can student commuters find eco alternatives to cars, crowded parking?
• Now that Labor Day has come and gone and the calendar marks the end of summer, tens of thousands of students across the Southland have or soon will be racing back to campus, all too often commuting across considerable distances, one to a car, to get to classes and a higher education. And, if the responses from 500 students studied for a Fullerton research project are indicative at all, driving — and especially stashing that car in costly, chaotic, congested parking — is no fun at all for young people, who argue they have little choice about how they get to school. Three-quarters of those Orange County students motor to school, alone, researchers, including Edwin Shin and Jessica Watson, found in Prof. Ray Young’s urban planning course. (Shin and Watson flank Young in Karen Tapia photo at right) Here’s another big finding, though: Students who take public transportation or who bike or walk to school are much more satisfied with their commuting experience. The students involved in th
