The Transportation Policy Committee has recommended keeping parking privileges for freshman residents on West Campus next year.
The recommendation was to Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs Steven W. Relyea, who will have the final say in the matter.
The committee discussed placing restrictions on freshman resident parking at its April 7 meeting. It was hoped restrictions would mitigate the loss of nearly 400 West Campus spaces next year due to construction. The committee discouraged the restrictions so it could defer its final recommendation until it could first see the effects of new carpool and shuttle services to be offered next year.
“”Freshman [resident] restrictions were one of several additional policy options being discussed to maintain reasonable parking availability,”” said Adrian Borsa, the graduate student representative to the committee. “”But the option is now much further down the list of possible actions.””
The TPC, which is advisory and has no decision-making authority, advised creating shuttle service to off-campus housing areas as well as marking additional student carpool spaces at closer, more convenient locations between faculty and staff parking areas.
If implemented, one shuttle route will serve the University City area and another will link the Mesa Apartments on Regents Road and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The committee is hoping these measures will ease the demand for student parking, director of Transportation and Parking Services Greg Snee said.
“”I am both excited and encouraged by the TPC’s vision to recommend implementation of these new alternative transportation shuttle systems for next fall,”” Snee said. “”The goal is to provide both an inexpensive and convenient alternative for students, staff and faculty who chose not to purchase parking permits.””
Borsa said he expects the new services will, in fact, reduce demand for parking on campus by graduate students who live at Mesa, but all students will reap the benefits.
“”We can actually see the possibility of eliminating the need for any restrictions if we can encourage enough UCSD commuters to leave their cars at home,”” Borsa said. “”A number of the committee members are very positive about the potential for getting people away from their cars.””
Snee agrees.
“”If we can get a significant number of people to use these systems voluntarily, we may be able to avoid implementing restrictions on freshman residents in the fall of 2003,”” he said.
If parking use is not significantly reduced this fall, the TPC will begin developing plans to reduce it by possibly restricting parking privileges for freshman residents in fall 2003.
Currently, UCLA and UC Berkeley have restrictions on freshman resident parking. Such a change at UCSD would not go over lightly, according to A.S. Council Representative to the Committee Tom Chapman.
“”The public transportation system here doesn’t accommodate residents,”” Chapman said.
Chapman also said that the current, somewhat poor quality of residential social life plus UCSD’s uncentralized location within San Diego would negatively affect freshman residents if they had no other outlets to leave campus.
Chapman and Borsa said they are working hard with other committee members to find solutions that do not adversely harm students.
“”There is good student representation on the TPC, and many of the faculty and administration members are quite concerned about the impact of any measures on students,”” Borsa said.
“”The student voice is being heard, and I am quite optimistic about what the committee is doing,”” he added.
The TPC will meet later this month to discuss parking permit fee increases, which are needed to fund the shuttle systems and to build two new parking structures. A final decision from Relyea is expected this May.
