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A little courtesy, please Photo by Bob Pennell Nelda Roberts, 77, is one of many users of the Medford Senior Center bothered by shrinking convenient parking. A big jump in Rogue Community College's Medford enrollment has hampered close-in parking at the center. Seniors ask students for parking help BY JULIE SWENSEN Dave Phillips' stroke has left one of his legs nearly useless. The 77-year-old can walk about 50 feet unaided. His wife, Beth, 68, has a serious back problem that's aggravated when she pushes his wheelchair. So it's hard on the Phoenix couple when parking spots close to the Medford Senior Center are filled with cars belonging to Rogue Community College students. For years, the seniors using the center at 510 E. Main found it easy to park in nearby public spots underneath the I-5 viaduct near Eighth Street. But rising enrollment at RCC's Medford campus means many more of the cars in those spots belong to college students; it also means seniors must not only park farther away but arrive earlier. The Phillipses, for example, arrive at 10 a.m. for their 11:30 a.m. lunch. Some pass on the ordeal altogether. Nelda Roberts, 77, whose leg cramps limit her steps, said, "If I can't find a place, I just go home." The parking spots under the overpass aren't reserved for seniors; that area is public parking, which center executive director Patti Proctor and others don't dispute. The center already has 17 reserved spots. But the center attracts between 90 and 160 people in the morning, said Proctor. All they're asking, she said, is for students to extend common courtesy and park farther away. Center staff have explored plenty of options, including building another parking lot. The $50,000 price tag nixed that idea. The city suggested having valet parking, Proctor said, but the center can't afford the insurance and liability. Then there's the golf cart idea, also cast aside because of liability. Buses? Some seniors can't get in and out of them. Proctor has asked the Medford Urban Renewal Agency, which manages the parking area, to try to get parking spots under the overpass limited to three hours. She's also asked RCC staff for help. "We're concerned about the impact on seniors in the parking lot around their center," said Tom Bradbeer, RCC's dean of human resources and college advancement. "We want to do all we can to try to find some mutually agreeable outcome here." But Bradbeer pointed out that there are no reserved spaces under the overpass. He also said the college is "making every effort" to communicate with students about the issue. "We've distributed fliers and we will continue to do that, but we aren't able to affect everyone who parks over there," Bradbeer said. He's welcomed people with suggestions on solving the problem to call him at 471-3505. Mike Weber, an administrative assistant with Urban Renewal, said students should be parking in that area so as not to aggravate downtown parking problems. He called the situation a sign of downtown success and as the population increases, adjustments have to be made. "Basically it's a public parking lot and that's what it's there for," said Weber. But the problem may be getting worse now that the RCC board has decided against leasing property near campus because of cost. The board encouraged staff to study options, including encouraging students to park under the overpass through incentives such as contests. Proctor, meanwhile, hopes students will think about whether they'd still park close to the center if it would affect their grandparents. "It's not about what's zoned for this or that," she said. "This is about basic courtesy." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA