Parking proposal rejected

Parking fees will not be raised for the 2005-2006 school year after the University Services Committee rejected a newly proposed plan.

The proposed plan would have raised total parking fees for both commuting students and residential students to $110. Under the current plan, B permits for commuters cost $91 while C permits for residents cost $66. Faculty and staff would have seen an increase from $80 to $120.

The proposed plan would have also changed the status of many parking spots around campus. The committee unanimously passed only one section of this proposal.

“Nothing will change except the changing of a 100 spaces down at the south end of Centennial Center for commuters and visitors for basketball games,” said Director of Public Safety Ken Vance. “It will be commuter during the day and visitor at night. The system will still be A, B and C with the same prices.”

Vance said the new parking would allow for easier parking for those attending a basketball game or other events at night while also allowing commuters easier access to the Centennial Center classrooms during the day.

The spaces that will be changed are currently C lot parking spaces.

Assistant Vice President for Business & Finance David Groseclose said that the change should not be an inconvenience for students living in residence halls.

“The thing is, there are a lot of students who live in Foundation and Parkhurst Halls that come in on Sunday night, park their car, and the car sits there all week,” Groseclose said. “Our feeling is that the car can sit in the Irwin Street lot just as easily as it can sit in the Napier lot.”

In the past, safety for students traveling between the Irwin Street lot and the residence halls has been a concern. Vance said Public Safety will improve routes for those who ride the shuttle and those who walk.

“We are going to run the shuttles later on Sunday until midnight,” Vance said. “We are also putting in new lighting on Hancock Street by the park.”

Even though the proposed plan failed, students are likely to see a change in parking in the next year.

Please see PARKING on pg. 3…

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“The city is going to address residential parking areas and residential parking. This is the city, not the university,” Vance said. “[GC&SU] is hiring a consultant to come in and help us formulate a plan. That will probably take close to all of next year.”

Another plan proposed by Jane Rose, assistant to the vice president for Academic Assessment, could one day come to light. In Rose’s plan, faculty and staff would pay on a sliding scale based on how much each individual earns.

“The flat rate for parking seems to me to ignore the reality that we all need to park to do our work, but that some of us get paid a lot more than others for that work,” Rose said. “A sliding scale would recognize that fact, and communicate the message that everyone’s work is important. Under Rose’s plan, a person earning less than $10,000 a year would pay $20 while a person earning $100,000 and higher a year would pay $120. Most faculty would fall somewhere in the middle.”

Roses’ plan already has support in high places. Dean of the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences Dr. Beth Rushing said she agrees with Rose’s assessment and said she feels it is a fair scale.

“We need everybody here to do their jobs,” Rushing said. “I’m at the higher end of the payment scale and I don’t mind paying more for parking. It’s easier for me to afford a high parking fee than it is for somebody who is at the lower end of the pay scale. I think that is fair. I can’t do my job without everybody else doing theirs.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 22 2005. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry