By Mary Jester
Asst. Campus Editor

If a parking fee proposal is passed at today's University Senate meeting, parking fees for students, faculty and staff will increase over the next eight years. The student C-surface permit would increase from $30 to $100, and the student C-garage permit would increase from $96 to $250. The A permit would increase from $72 to $250 and the B permit would increase from $30 to $100. The proposal would go into effect in fall 2001.

Frank Reeve, associate professor of electrical engineering technology and chairman of the University Parking and Traffic Committee, said, "The rationale behind it is, basically, the parking program for years has not been paying its own way, and some of the funds and resources that have been used … are drying up." He said some of the other funds are general in nature and could be used for other worthwhile projects. "Somebody's going to pay for it one way or another," said Reeve. He said people who are using the parking should be the ones paying for it.

Reasons for the increase in parking fees include the doubling of students and staff since 1963 when the parking system was established, an increase of costs and an increase in visitors and in people driving cars. Also, parking spaces from the core of campus have decreased due to construction of several buildings over the years.

Reeve and Donna Kemper, parking facilities manager, said Purdue has the lowest parking fees in the Big Ten. Even if the increase is made over the next eight years, Purdue will still have the lowest parking fees in the Big Ten. Except for a slight increase in 1971, parking permits and parking fees haven't changed at Purdue since 1963. They haven't even been adjusted for inflation.

Drew Clemens, a sophomore in the School of Liberal Arts, said it is probably time for the University to make a change. "It's kind of a shame that they haven't been doing it since then."

Kemper said, "About 50 percent of (the) parking program is funded by income from parking — permits, tickets, meters. Twenty-five percent comes from Purdue's operational budget; 25 percent comes from an endowment fund." However, the endowment fund is not a permanent source of revenue.

Parking fees have been kept low by the University as a perk to attract faculty and staff.

Reeve said it is unrealistic for people to expect the fees to remain unchanged.

Clemens said, "It's probably appropriate for the University to help fund parking but not necessarily to put that before academics. Parking is a perk."

Reeve said, "We all want to park 50 feet from our office or classroom and make a mad dash." He said that if people want to park close to where they need to be, they will have to pay for it. If they are willing to accept some inconvenience, they will pay less. Reeve said that if students don't like the prices for the garages, they can still park in a remote lot and take the shuttle bus to campus.

If the proposal is accepted, the amount of parking permits would be readjusted to allow for the parking garages to be filled at 90 percent of the capacity. Reeve said measurements have shown C-garage permits are filling spaces at 105 percent of the capacity, which means those with C-garage permits are parking in spaces marked for A or B permits. If this change is achieved, parkers should be able to find a space in their garage within a few minutes as opposed to circling for 45 minutes to an hour. Reeve said the parking programs — including the 1,000 C parking spaces in the Ross-Ade Stadium parking lot with the shuttle bus, implemented in fall 1999 — have already alleviated much of this trouble.

Reeve said that although the senate is voting on the proposal, it's not really an issue that solicits a vote. He said the proposal addresses the issue; the details can be changed as the plan is put into effect.

Reeve said some change has to occur — it just has to be decided what is a fair way to distribute the increase so that everyone helps to contribute to the solution. He said any kind of increase will impact some people more than others, due to differences in income.

Clemens said there should be more regulation on the type of person who gets a parking permit rather than just on the fees. "A lot of people that need parking permits live far away from campus, and a lot of those people are working and going to class."

The University Parking and Traffic Committee's parking proposal includes the following goals:

• Increase all parking permit rates beginning in fall 2000.

• Sell limited number of C-garage permits for specific garages and charge the same as for A permits. Do not allow A permits to park in C-garage spaces.

• Remove B permits from all parking garages and relocate them to surface lots.

• Charge the same for C-surface permits as for B permits.

• Provide unlimited access to CityBus for faculty and staff as well as for students. Reeve said opening the CityBus system to faculty and staff could save the space of one parking garage.

• Increase fines. For example, driving or parking in violation of posting, marking or regulations would be increased from $15 to $20.

• Construct a remote lot before fall 2001.