Parking director Donna Hultine responds to questions about KU parking at the public hearing Wednesday in Anderson Auditorium. Anyone was allowed to voice their concerns and offer ideas about better parking.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Members of the University’s parking commission asked for directions from faculty and students yesterday at a public hearing.
About 20 faculty members and students took part in discussing comments and ideas regarding Parking and Transit departmental policies, rules and fees.
Steven Schrock, chairman of the Parking Commission, led the public hearing.
“This is going to be a driving force for the committee and we’ll see what we can do,” Schrock said.
Donna Hultine, director of Parking and Transit, said the office sent out an e-mail to faculty and students with surveys, which it had never done before. She said the surveys dealt with the issues of assigned parking spaces for faculty and staff, handicap-accessible parking and new or expanded parking areas for motorcycles and mopeds. She said she hoped to form focus groups that would discuss the ideas brought up in the surveys and public hearing.
The issue of accessible parking was the most heavily discussed topic at the hearing. Tiffany Huggard-Lee, Columbia, Mo. graduate student, is the vice-president of AbleHawks and Allies, a student organization meant to educate and create awareness for students with disabilities. She said she advocated for more on-campus parking spots for disabled students that were closer to buildings where classes are held.
Huggard-Lee also said charging physically disabled students more for closer parking was wrong and conflicts with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Johnathan Duncan, Newton senior and vice-president of Collegiate Veterans Association, said he was also against charging more for closer parking spaces on campus. He advocated for discounted parking spaces for veterans. He said with the increased benefits created with the passage of the new GI Bill, the number of veterans on campus would increase in the coming years and higher parking prices would not be fair for these veterans.
Another student voiced concern over the reckless driving of some moped drivers and demanded that action be taken to avoid injuries.
Hultine said the department had received many complaints about reckless moped driving on campus sidewalks. These complaints prompted administrators to discuss alternative parking areas for mopeds and motorcycles.
A few students who drove mopeds talked about having to park elsewhere as opposed to continuing to park by bicycle racks. One student said students should be allowed to park mopeds near bicycle racks because the low-powered engine wasn’t as powerful as a motorcycle’s.
From accesible parking to accomidating the needs of students and faculty, Hultine said the ideas at the public hearing will help with future Parking and Transit projects. She also said she encouraged those who attended the public hearing to be involved in those projects.
— Edited by Anna Kathagnarath
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Comments
Parking and Transit holds public hearing
Who said the Parking Department charged disabled students more for closer parking? If you purchase a yellow parking permit (like the rest of us) and have a registered handicap placard or license plate, you can almost park anywhere on campus!
Parking and Transit holds public hearing
"students should be allowed to park mopeds near bicycle racks because the low-powered engine wasn’t as powerful as a motorcycle’s"
My dodge neon doesn't have as powerful of an engine as a ferrari, but I'm not going to be doing 200 mph across campus in either one. Engine size is irrelevant to the discussion, except that it defines the line between scooter and motorcycle. Stop driving on the sidewalks. I've never seen a motorcyclist drive on the sidewalk, and I would hazard a guess that it's because they can't park in the bicycle rack and not because they're better people.