Wednesday, March 5, 2008
The KU parking commission will vote next Tuesday on a proposal that would lower the price of a Park and Ride permit from $205 to $100, while raising the prices of all the other permits.
The Parking Department hasn’t determined how much it wants to raise other permit prices, but May Davis, transportation coordinator for KU on Wheels, said she thought all other permits should cost at least $75 more than a Park and Ride permit.
The goal of the proposal is to motivate more students to buy Park and Ride permits and park off campus, said Donna Hultine, director of parking and transit.
Hultine said the proposal would increase the on-campus parking availability.
“We realize there’s not enough parking on campus,” Hultine said. “But if we can entice students to park and ride, we can lower the traffic congestion on campus.”
The Student Recreation Fitness Center parking lot is one problem area for students trying to find parking spots during school hours. The KU parking commission will vote next week to determine if increasing the price of parking permits, while decreasing the price of Park and Ride permits, will fix the problem.
If the proposal passes, the Transit Department will buy two new Park and Ride buses for $80,000 each.
Steven Schrock, co-chairman of the parking commission, said the department would use the money raised from the increase of regular permit prices to pay for the extra buses.
“Two more buses would make it much more convenient for students who park off campus,” he said. “We’d be shooting ourselves in the foot if we lowered the price for Park and Ride, but didn’t provide additional buses for the increased number of students who’d be parking out there.”
The parking commission that will vote on the issue includes three student senators, three faculty members, two professional staff members and two support staff members.
The commission will also vote on whether the Parking Department should help pay for students to have access to free bus rides. However, the exact details on this proposal have not yet been confirmed.
Some students, such as Luis Lopez, Salina sophomore, think the department’s proposal is a bad idea.
“I don’t like it because it’s inefficient, because riding the Park and Ride bus takes way more time to get to campus,” he said. “I would be more in favor of building a stacked parking lot.”
Davis, who is also a member of Student Senate, said the proposal would benefit students with on-campus parking permits and students with Park and Ride permits.
“There’s not going to be any more parking on campus, so instead of making students hunt for spots, they will have a more economical option where they can always find a place to park,” she said. “And if you buy the more expensive permit you will also not be hunting for a spot because people would have spread out naturally.”
Mary Klayder, honors lecturer in the English department, said it might be a hassle to park off campus, but that she could see where the parking commission was coming from.
“Do I want to park off campus? No, but I understand the desire to lower traffic congestion on campus,” Klayder said.
— Edited by Patrick De Oliveira
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