Fewer
parking spaces for faculty and staff may mean a loss of campus parking
spaces for students.
Barry D. Sauls, director of university parking and traffic said
Stadium lot spaces open to students may be limited to compensate
for faculty and staff spaces lost due to construction.
Sauls said construction on the new Library & Information Commons
and Student Recreation Center will result in the loss of “roughly
380 prime parking spaces” next year.
“We will be re-allocating the spaces to deal with [the closing
of the on campus parking lots],” Sauls said.
A parking and traffic committee comprised of three students, three
faculty members and three staff members are currently discussing
ideas for next year’s parking situation.
“The biggest change will be for graduate assistants,”
Sauls said.
One consideration of the committee is to move graduate assistants
from the Raley parking lot to the Stadium parking lot, Sauls said.
If this plan is approved, Raley lot would then be open to faculty
and staff while the Stadium lot will be available to graduate students
and some seniors.
Stadium parking lot, which is usually filled with senior students,
has 626 spaces.
Sauls said 300 of those 626 spaces may be filled with graduate assistants
next year.
“We’re hoping some faculty, staff, graduate assistants
and seniors will opt for the parking deck,” said Sauls said.
Permits for the Rivers Street parking deck are currently $500 per
year or $352 a semester.
Sauls said 658 students opted to purchase passes for the new parking
deck this year.
“I was concerned the premium rate would hold people away. I
was surprised that the response has been favorable as it has been,”
Sauls said.
Sauls said another option being considered to free up on campus
spaces for faculty and staff is doing away with resident assistant
parking on the east side of campus in the Legends parking lot.
Sauls said if this option was taken, RAs losing their parking spaces
would be given “the best student parking available.”
Emily L. Mcdermott, sophomore Student Government senator and chairperson
of the parking and traffic committee said student members of the
committee want to keep RA parking spots and students in stadium
lot.
“I’m fighting really hard. I think RAs should still park
[on campus],” said Mcdermott.
Mcdermott said she is concerned about the loss of a number of on
campus parking spaces for students including several 20-minute parking
spaces located on Brown Street.
Mcdermott said an option being explored is to turn those 20-minute
spaces into reserved faculty and staff parking spaces.
“I’ve kind of been torn,” Mcdermott said. “RAs
should still have their spots, but at the same time desperate times
call for desperate measures.”
Mcdermott said it is important to be realistic about the need for
faculty and staff parking on campus.
Mcdermott said the committee has also talked about base rate for
general parking and a lower price for the parking deck, but that
administration and the Board of Trustees must first approve all
of these options.
Student Body President Ryan M. Eller, who appointed Mcdermott and
the other student committee members, said he felt the committee
was doing the best possible job.
“It’s a difficult situation all the way around,”
Eller said.
Eller said every different constituent group on the committee is
searching for the best spaces on campus.
“Students are trying to keep an open mind on the committee
and not hinder the ability of faculty and staff,” Eller said.
Fewer
parking spaces for faculty and staff may mean a loss of campus parking
spaces for students.