The cost of parking permits is scheduled to increase by 5 percent next academic year to fund additional parking facilities, increases in alternative transportation programs and in investment technology, according to Greg Snee, the director of planning and analysis at Transportation and Parking Services.
The price of parking permits will rise 5 percent next year to the chagrin of many students, who pay parking permit fees to support campus construction efforts.
Though the increase is smaller than in recent years, there is no predictable end to rising prices, since parking fees contribute to the growth of T&PS. In the 2003-04 school year, parking fees rose by 10 percent, followed by an 8-percent increase in 2004-05 and a 5-percent increase in 2005-06.
Under the UC Master Plan of 1960, T&PS is designed to be entirely self-supporting, and UCSD parking permit holders fund not only construction costs and financing of facilities, but also the operational costs including maintenance, utilities and security.
Snee blamed construction costs for the rate hike, explaining that the construction of parking facilities is very expensive. Hopkins Parking Structure, currently under construction at the corner of Voigt Drive and Hopkins Drive, will cost approximately $30 million.
The 1,400 new parking spaces created in this facility will each cost about $20,000, according to Snee.
Many commuters have been frustrated by the rising parking prices, which they said are excessive because of the time and distance it still takes to travel from a parking lot to a lecture hall.
“I think it’s ridiculous that we have to pay over $500 on a parking pass, and then we still have to spend 20 minutes on the shuttle to get from Regents [Lot] to campus,” Thurgood Marshall College senior Katia Stanford said.
Stanford suggested that there be different parking fee levels for spots close to campus and spots in the Regents and East lots, which require a shuttle trip to campus and therefore should have reduced rates.
“I understand that it’s difficult to put more ‘S’ spots on campus because there isn’t room,” Stanford said. “But why should I pay the same amount of money as someone who lives on campus and is always going to find a close spot, when I never will?”
On average, 14,473 of the 18,001 parking spaces on campus were occupied at peak hours during winter quarter, according to central survey data from the T&PS Web site.
However, some students dispute the data, saying that parking spots near campus are unavailable even during early morning hours. Parking at colleges is perpetually cramped, according to T&PS statistics, with Marshall College and Earl Warren College averaging no available student spots in any given day.
“At 6 a.m. you can’t even find a parking spot in Gilman [Parking Structure],” Revelle College junior Kristin Hunsperger said. “Don’t you think it’s a little bit ridiculous that we’re putting up a whole new food court and more administration buildings when we need more parking? I don’t know if I’ll even buy a parking pass next year.”
The most parking that is available is in north campus and east campus lots, located at the edges of campus.
At east campus lots, 969 student spots on average are available during peak afternoon hours.
