Small spaces. No parking spots. Tickets. Parking is an issue on campus, but if you are one of the few, smart students who saved yourself the hassle and gave up your car, these are issues that don’t matter to you. But with the positives of no car comes the negatives of not being able to get to places as easily, like eating off-campus.
Eating off-campus is easier than ever with all of the transportation SMU and the Dallas area have to offer. From the DART to Zip Cars the transportation is endless, and SMU students are finding new creative ways to eat around Dallas without a car.
Recent SMU graduate Taylor Henry spent the entirety of his undergraduate career without a car.
“I knew I would have to buy a parking pass, keep my car in the garage and spend most of my time on campus that first semester… Each semester stretched into the next until sometime during my second year, I decided I didn’t want to have a car at all,” Henry said.
With so many food options within walking distance from SMU, students have options. Snider Plaza provides a multitude of restaurants to choose from. Banditos, Penne Pomodoro, Digg’s Tacos, there are plenty of different kinds of restaurants to satisfy students needs.
But if first-years are looking to venture out into Dallas, the DART or a bicycle are reliable and cheap forms of transportation.
Half of the fun of Dallas adventures comes from getting to the place you need to be. With the DART, SMU students can buy a semester-long pass for $5, and they save money on gas and car maintenance.
“Some of my best memories are taking the train with friends to Klyde Warren Park for food-trucks, taking the train to visit my brother and dad in Deep Ellum to enjoy Uncle Uber’s Sammiches, taking the train to Plano for breakfast with an old friend at Poor Richard’s, biking to the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge to see if I could or taking the bus with my roommate to work this summer,” Henry said.
Although Dallas is not a bike-friendly city just yet, it’s getting there. From bike lanes in downtown to the biking and walking section on the Margret Hunt Hill Bridge to the trails around White Rock Lake, bikes are becoming an integral part of how people get around Dallas.
“Ditching the car is not for everyone, but I wish everyone would try it. It is inconvenient. It is public. It is tiring, but I think these things matured me a bit. Now I’m aware of times I need to be places and when I need to leave,” Henry said.
The best way to know a new city is to get out there and discover it yourself. So ditch the car, grab some friends and hop on the DART or a bike, see what you can find.
