Students purchasing priority parking permits this semester will be forking over more cash, while others may be offered less parking spots due to the renovation of the Central Avenue parking lot.
A 24-hour priority permit secures a student a daily space in one of 14 permit-only lots or garages on campus, but they'll pay $90 per semester this fall, an increase of $18 since last semester and the first increase since 2001. After-hours permit fees were raised $13, making them $38 a semester now.
"Many projects have been completed, and with the rising cost of materials for new projects along with the increase in the funds needed for operating expenses, an increase was needed," said Angela Floyd, director of Parking Services.
The $2.5 million renovation of the Central Parking Lot provided wider spaces but eliminated about 100 spots from the lot. It was paid for by Parking Service's Auxiliary Renewal and Replacement funds, said Tony Poteet, Assistant Vice President of Campus Planning and Design.
Floyd said the lot's renovation was not a direct factor in increasing fees because any project completed in the past ten years was done so on the "old rate structure" of a previously established budget.
Parking Services, which is completely self-funded and receives no money from The University or the state, pays for all parking lot maintenance or renovations, salaries and benefits for employees, operating expenditures and debt retirement for bonds used to build garages out of their budget. Additionally, Floyd said, the department sets aside money annually for the renewal and replacement account that funded the Central Lot.
The department's revenue comes from permit sales, fees for meters and garages, and citations, according to Floyd.
"Parking Services has kept fees as low as we could for as long as we could; however, it can't continue to operate at 2001 levels," Floyd said. "We are also in the process of examining a complete review of the entire parking system on all U of M campuses and we anticipate new projects will come as a result of this review."
Still, some students are unsure why there are less general parking spaces on campus and they are paying more for the priority permits.
According to Floyd, as of Wednesday, all priority permits were sold out except for Lot 53, on the east side of campus, off of Zach Curlin St.
Mitul Patel, junior dietetics major and a commuter student, said he parks in the Central lot and isn't happy with less spaces or the increased prices in priority permits.
"The renovations make it even harder to find a parking spot now, when the lots were always full before the renovations," he said. "I think less people may choose to park in the priority spots due to the fee increase and that would also crowd the general parking."
Meagan Irick, junior nursing major, said she walks to campus but is still upset about the changes.
"Parking was already pricey, and the odds of finding a space were slim. It seems someone in Parking Services realized what the problem was and said, ‘Let's do the opposite of a smart solution!'" Irick wrote in an email to The Daily Helmsman.
However, some students said they have no problem with the additional fees. Cody Belew, junior accounting major, said he doesn't mind fewer parking spots in exchange for safety.
"I park in the Central Lot instead of buying a priority permit to save money," he said. "I'm not shocked that fees increased this semester because everything on campus is going up."
Poteet said students had a number of opportunities to attend discussion sessions about the Central Lot before it was built.
Previously, the Central Parking Lot had 1,513 spaces. It will have 1,412 once renovations are completed – the majority of which are finished. The reason fewer spaces are now available is to make existing spaces wider and more consistent, according to Poteet.
"The layout of the parking spaces is now consistent, limits drive aisle crossings and conforms to industry standards for dimensional spacing, adding to the safe provision of parking for our university community," he said.
