Waiting list relieves parking
problems
By Laura Pelner
Campus Editor
Within a day and
a half to two days at the end of last semester Purdue's Parking Facilities
distributed applications for 1,400 garage-specific "C" parking permits
and accumulated a waiting list for at least 2,500 more.
The permits, which
allow students who live outside a mile and a half from campus to park
in certain garages, were offered under a new system this year to ensure
spaces were not too oversold.
So far it has worked.
There are approximately
1,400 garage "C" parking spots and initially only 1,400 permits were
allocated for the four garages — 525 in the Wood Street garage,
175 in the Marsteller Street garage, 250 in the University Street garage
and 450 in the Northwestern Avenue garage.
"We're trying to
sell as many (permits) as we can while still providing adequate spaces,"
said Mike Jasper, Parking Facilities manager.
Jasper said he's
"pleased" with the way the system is working so far. "Process-wise it's
working well for us," he said. "…I think the "C" garage program
is here to stay."
However, he also
said there are some misconceptions about the new program and some students
are disappointed they did not receive a "C" garage permit.
"We're receiving
the reaction from some students who were not successful in getting garage
permits; they didn't hear about the distribution," said Jasper. "We're
trying to address that in the future."
The new system separates
"C" permits into garage-specific and surface ones. Students who purchase
a garage-specific permit for $72 can park only in their designated garage.
Those who buy surface permits for $30 can park in remote lots like the
one behind Ross-Ade Stadium. Free shuttles will still be offered for
students with a valid student ID.
Additionally, those
with "A" and "B" permits, traditionally administrators, professors and
teaching assistants, can no longer park in "C" spots. If all the "A"
spots are full, those permit holders will have to go to remote lots
to park.
All "B" spots have
been removed from garages and transferred to remote lots as well. Jasper
said "B" spots were moved to areas close to the garages they came from
to minimize the walk and he added that many "B" permit holders upgraded
to an "A" permit this year. The garage spots that were once "B" were
switched to "A" and "C" permit spots.
Jasper said the
big benefit to this new permit system is the reduced number of people
competing for the same spots. Last year, 6,800 "C" permits were issued
in total for the garages and remote lots.
"The big difference
is, in the old program 6,800 people could look for those spaces," Jasper
said. "Now, that's limited to 1,400 to 1,600 for those spaces."
The garages will
be monitored in the next few weeks to see how many spaces are being
used on a daily basis. Jasper said that if there are a lot of open or
inefficiently used spaces, those on the "C" garage permit waiting lists
would be offered permits.
"We're almost certain
we can offer some more permits," he said. "The monitoring will tell
us how many."
Jasper said that
if a situation arises where too many permits are issued, Parking Facilities
would adjust the spots accordingly to try to remedy the situation.
He said the waiting
lists are organized in a time-sequential manner so those people who
were put on a list first will have priority.
Jasper said that
if a spot becomes available, someone from Parking Facilities will call
the waiting students. However, he added a suggestion that those on the
waiting lists purchase a surface "C" permit in the meantime.
"Realistically only
10 percent (of those on the waiting lists) will have "C" garage permits,"
he said.
Waiting students
who purchase a surface permit and are later offered a garage permit
can simply trade permits and pay the difference in cost.
Students can pick
up their permits any time this month provided they meet the eligibility
requirements of living outside a mile and a half from campus, have a
copy of their lease, have a valid driver's license and a copy of their
fee statement showing they're registered for classes this semester.
Parking Facilities,
which is located in the Visitor Information Center on Northwestern Avenue,
is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will also be
open this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for students to pick up permits.
For more information about permits, visit Parking Facilities' Web site
at www.purdue.edu/parking.
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