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SGA votes in favor of raising parking fees for general garage

<p>A third of general parking at the University of Memphis will be eliminated when the university begins construction on a new recreation center and pedestrian bridge. As a result, the per semester parking fee will increase from $42 to $69 to cover the cost of a parking garage that will replace the lost spaces.&nbsp;</p>
A third of general parking at the University of Memphis will be eliminated when the university begins construction on a new recreation center and pedestrian bridge. As a result, the per semester parking fee will increase from $42 to $69 to cover the cost of a parking garage that will replace the lost spaces. 
Parking on Southern Ave. Future site of the Recreation Center

A third of general parking at the University of Memphis will be eliminated when the university begins construction on a new recreation center and pedestrian bridge. As a result, the per semester parking fee will increase from $42 to $69 to cover the cost of a parking garage that will replace the lost spaces. 

The Student Government Association voted in support of building a new parking garage by increasing fees for University of Memphis students and faculty, during a senate meeting Thursday.   

While, the student government does not have the power to raise student or faculty fees, the student senate voted that they agree with the university officials’ fee hike plan.

The average student and faculty member would see their parking fees increase by more than 63 percent to build the $18.6 million garage when the plan goes into effect.  

>>>See how much more you might have to pay in student fees if the $18.6 million garage is approved<<<

Parking Garage, What fees might look like

University of Memphis officials proposed building a new $18.6 million parking garage. In order to pay for it, parking fees would increase. Students paying for the general parking pass, which is the standard mandatory payment all full-time students pay, would increase the most.

The new garage will be a general parking space, meaning open to all students and faculty. This cames because of discussions between of David Knowles, student government president, and Angela Floyd, U of M's director of Parking Services. Currently all U of M garages are priority pass only. T

Most full-time students pay $42 a semester to park on the main campus. Those same students will pay $68 a semester if the plan goes into effect.

Most U of M faculty and staff members pay $15.30 a month for a general parking pass.

Those same university employees would pay almost $25 a month to park on the main campus if state officials approve the garage.

The student senate voted unanimously in favor of the fee increase, though only 16 voting members of the SGA senate's 31 total members were present to the meeting. There were also three non-voting members present as well. 

>>>The future of parking at the University of Memphis: "It's going to be rough."<<< 

Despite the student turn out, the higher ups of the U of M’s Student Affairs department, who are not normally at these meetings, were there to answer questions.

Both Rosie Bingham, vice president for Student Affairs, and Danny Armitage, associate vice president for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, attended the meeting.

The fee increase would take effect in fall semester 2017.

Parking at the University of Memphis: Plan to deal with lot shortage

Building the new recreation center and pedestrian bridge will eliminate nearly one-third of general parking spaces. This is how the U of M will try to make up that loss.  

The need for a new garage comes because construction of the recreation center and pedestrian bridge will eliminate more than 1,400 parking spaces at the Southern Avenue parking lot.

 The university plans to expand parking where it can, but without the garage there will likely be a 695 parking space deficit.

An alternative plan was to have some students park at the Park Avenue Campus and take a Blue Line shuttle to the main campus.

Several informal polls conducted by The Daily Helmsman seemed to show that many students were almost evenly divided on the two plans.

The most recent poll of commuter students showed that about 47 percent of favored raising parking fees to build a garage while 53 percent preferred some students being forced to park at the Park Avenue campus. 

The Daily Helmsman asked commuter students, in an informal poll, if they would rather pay a higher parking fee to build a new general parking garage or be forced to park at the Park Avenue campus and take a shuttle to the main campus. A majority said they would rather take the shuttle. The Helmsman interviewed 55 students for this poll. Nearly 90 percent of the university students are commuters. Student government will vote Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on whether they agree with a parking fee hike to pay for a parking garage.

Correction: In a previous version of this story it said that SGA has at least 40 members, there are currently 31 members. Also, while there were 16 voting members of the senate during the meeting, there were also three non-voting members present.


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