As another academic year at the University commences with the first days of fall term, so too does the hectic search for accommodating parking spots among vehicle-owning students, whose main objective is to find a location near campus that also fits nicely within their personal budget.
Unfortunately, the 2011-12 academic year offers little in the form of new affordable parking opportunities, and a recent change in city parking policies has resulted in even greater limits on available university parking.
Over the summer, the City of Eugene eliminated the last of the all-day parking options in neighborhoods south of campus between 18th Avenue and 23rd Avenue. The decision, which was inspired by residents frustrated by the high number of vehicles parking for long hours in their community, means that practically all spots in the area are now limited to two-hour slots.
“Student parking had been a topic of conversation among these communities for over five years,” said Jeff Petry, the City of Eugene parking services manager@@http://www.eugene-or.gov/portal/server.pt?space=CommunityPage&control=SetCommunity&CommunityID=805&PageID=-1@@. “Cars cycled through frequently and cluttered the community. It was a matter of neighborhood livability.”
Petry estimates that in past years, approximately 25 percent of parking in this area had remained open to parking for the entire day. This year — with the exception of a handful of all-day spots outside two residences that appealed the city’s decision — drivers who frequently parked in this area will now be restricted to a two-hour window for activities at the university.
This is an annoyance for many of the university’s students and visitors. Kirstin Molder@@not in UO directory@@, a Eugene native and former member of the Oregon Marching Band, argued that two hours is rarely enough time for any activity on campus, including classes.
“When I was in marching band, most of us had to park outside the two-hour area because our practice was longer than that,” Molder said. “But I don’t even know how a student can park there, make it class and make it back all in two hours. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
Even with this sentiment, most of the alternatives currently offered are even less acceptable by most students’ standards. Street meters on campus — although readily available across campus and now debit card-friendly — cost students $1.25 every hour, which at times can amount to more than $12 a day.@@https://parking.uoregon.edu/content/parking-rates@@
Parking permits are also expensive, priced at $65 for 30 days or $300 for the entire school year. Moreover, student permit-holders must also compete with faculty members for a limited number of parking spaces scattered in off-campus locations, the majority of which are at least a ten minute walk away.@@https://parking.uoregon.edu/content/permits@@
The University is taking steps to offer parking closer to campus, however. The Columbia parking garage underneath the Ford Alumni Center opened in May and contains a mix of metered parking and permit parking among its three levels.
“The garage offers several parking spaces that are close to campus,” John Hawley, University Parking Director@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=John+Hawley@@, said. “The biggest users at the moment are faculty in the Ford Alumni Center and university visitors, but there is still a lot of capacity in there.”
Hawley also said that in the long-term, two new construction projects — the new dormitory and improvements on Moss Street — will create more parking close to campus. Both projects are scheduled to be completed by 2013.