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Parking permit system adjusted |
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By: Andrew Mitchell - News Editor
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Wednesday, February 28, 2007 |
The system of parking permits and the physical reality of parking availability has undergone some changes for the 2006-2007 school year.
University of the Pacific hopes to smooth over some of the kinks in introducing the new ‘N’ parking permits.
“It’s a complicated deal,” said Patrick Cavanaugh, the vice-president of business and finance at the university.
‘N’ parking permits were sold in the fall for those students who live north of the Calaveras River which divides the campus. Sold at the same $75 rate as ‘B’ permits, the ‘N’ permits became available to residents of the Townhouses, Monagan Hall, and Brookside Hall.
The university implemented the ‘N’ permits to relieve what was viewed as congestion in Central Campus. Public Safety Director Michael Belcher explained that students living on North Campus would normally drive across the river to attend classes.
As a result, parking lots filled up more rapidly, leaving commuting students at a disadvantage. Those commuters would, along with other students, park in surrounding neighborhoods. On a typical weekday, residents would find several student cars parked on the street in front of their homes.
Pacific decided to research this problem and come up with solutions. Belcher said the university took aerial shots of campus at “critical times” to review the full picture of the campus parking situation.
What the university found was that while the lots in Central and South campus were filled to capacity, the lots in North Campus had quite a few empty parking places. Solutions included restricting parking for freshmen students, as is done at other schools, or create an entirely new system of permits.
Every solution had Pacific’s main goal in mind: making the campus pedestrian-friendly.
“Probably the biggest improvement is we’re not restricting any class level from parking on campus,” Belcher said.
Soon after the new permits were introduced, students complained to ASUOP and the administration. Confusion and a sense of disenfranchisement set in. Students felt they were unjustly charged for permits that could not be used anywhere ‘B’ permits could.
The ‘N’ permits could be used in lots north of the river, including the Townhouse lot, the Pharmacy school, the tennis lot, and lots for Monagan and Brookside.
However, they could not be used in ‘B’ lots south of the river. ‘B’ permits were allowed to park in both ‘B’ and ‘N’ lots. Knowing this, students found no point in purchasing ‘N’ permits if ‘B’ had less restrictions.
“We probably should have recognized that the ‘N’ value was less than the ‘B,’” Cavanaugh said, reflecting on the initial sale of ‘N’ permits.
To compensate for the disparity, Pacific will be giving North Campus students a credit on their student account for $25, which will be given at the beginning of the fall semester.
“It’s basically to correct an inequity,” Cavanaugh said.
For the fall semester, ‘N’ parking permits will be $50 versus the $75 for ‘B’ permits. The credit is only for those students who’ve spent the entire academic year living on North Campus.
Also a couple lots south of the river are now available to those with ‘N’ permits. Lot 1, next to Stagg Stadium, is open to any permit. Lot 3 behind the Intercollegiate Athletic Center is also available to ‘N’ permit holders. And lots will only be enforced from 8 am to 5 pm weekdays. Weekends and nights are free for ‘N’ permits on Central Campus.
“I think it’s been somewhat of a success in what we wanted to do which was to relieve the congestion on South Campus,” said Cavanaugh, commenting on the ‘N’ permit program.
Cavanaugh warns though that until the major construction for the University Center is completed, parking will continue to be a problem.
Spaces lost to the construction of the University Center have been replaced elsewhere. Belcher said that Lot 7 behind Fraternity Row was restriped to add spaces as was Lot 2 next to the swimming pool.
For next year, Cavanaugh reassures students that prices for the permits would remain the same.
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