Campus Officials Consider Options to Avoid Future Parking Shortages
Staff, Faculty and Students Give Input on Solutions During Forums
Ioana Patringenaru | January 28, 2008
Parking at UCSD could become much more difficult within the next five years, as the campus population grows at the same time as the number of parking spots decreases, officials said last week. They outlined a series of measures that would allow the campus to avoid shortages.
Proposals include offering a regional transit pass that would provide free access to public transportation throughout San Diego County; restricting parking for resident freshmen; and building new parking structures. Members of UCSD’s Transportation Policy Committee are set to vote on these options in mid-February, said Brian d’Autremont, director of Transportation and Parking Services.
During a series of forums last week, d’Autremont outlined the pros and cons for each proposal. He urged both faculty and staff members to contact their representatives on the Transportation Policy Committee to give feedback. Another forum for students took place at 11 a.m. today.
“We want everybody to be heard,” d’Autremont said in an interview before the forums.
During both meetings, he put a strong emphasis on public transportation, which helps the university meet its sustainability goals, he said. “We need to get people out of their cars,” he told faculty gathered at a forum Wednesday. “That’s the best way we can help this campus.”
UCSD’s population will increase by about 5,300 by the 2012-13 academic year, according to a recent report assessing the campus’ parking and transportation needs. At the same time, the university will lose about 1,660 parking spaces, as new buildings rise where parking lots used to be. As a result, about 96 percent of parking spots would be occupied on campus every day, according to the report. By contrast, today, about 80 percent of spots are full. Most vacant spaces can be found away from the heart of campus, on the East Campus, North Campus and at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Parking solutions
To free up parking spots, UCSD is working with other government agencies to offer a regional transit pass that would allow members of the UCSD community to use all public transportation for free, D’Autremont said. He added UCSD is hoping to make the pass available for free. D’Autremont said officials are negotiating with the North County Transit District to include the Coaster in the pass, in addition to all other train and bus routes in the county. UCSD plans to roll out the pass this summer, d’Autremont also said, adding he hopes it would get at least 1,000 people out of their cars.
“I’m very, very excited about this,” he said.
Brian d'Autremont, director of Transportation and Parking Services, gave a presentation for staff members Thursday at the Price Center.
Not allowing resident freshmen to bring their cars to campus would free up an additional 1,000 spots, d’Autremont said. Some in the academic community feel that restricting parking for students helps build community by ensuring that freshmen are a captive audience on campus, he added. But Ed Spriggs, associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs, pointed out Wednesday that implementing a parking restriction for freshmen might make it harder to recruit top students. A majority of UCSD students come from the Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area, he pointed out. Without a car, they would have to rely on their parents, or fly or take the train to go back home, he said Friday, during an interview after the forums.
The freshmen parking restriction wouldn’t be in place for another four years, d’Autremont said. The Associated Students hasn’t taken a position on the issue, A.S. President Marco Murillo said Friday. Making sure that freshmen have other means of transportation to leave campus will be key, he said. Students will have access to a wide range of public transportation options through the regional transit pass, d’Autremont said.
Parking structures
UCSD could build parking structures to address its needs, but that would lead to price increases for permits, d’Autremont also said. Without building structures, parking permit fees will probably increase to $73 for students, $96 for staff members and $112 for faculty by 2012-13, according to projections. Prices would go up to $76 for students, $101 for staff members and $116 for faculty to cover the cost of a 1,000-spot parking structure near Thornton Hospital. They would go up to $84, $111 and $128 for a 800-spot structure in the University Center area, and to $90, $120 and $138 to build both the Thornton and University Center structures.
Building the University Center parking lot at the intersection of Gilman and Myers drives would amount to a 16 percent increase spread over four or five years, Spriggs, the associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs, said Friday. But faculty, staff and students would reap the benefits of a new parking structure right in the center of campus, he added.
A new parking structure is vital to help support UCSD’s new downtown, Spriggs also said. To attract people to the campus’ new downtown, they must have convenient access to it both during the day and at night, he added. The Price Center’s expansion is set to open soon, with new restaurants, new stores and new entertainment venues, he pointed out. The goal is to create a village within the campus, since UCSD isn’t near a city’s downtown, unlike UC Berkeley or UCLA, he added. “It’s very exciting that we have the opportunity to steer the future of what UCSD is going to be,” Spriggs said.
Staff and Faculty Reactions
During last week’s forums, d’Autremont also fielded questions from both faculty and staff members about lack of parking. Part of the problem is the campus’ A, B and S system, which allows drivers to park in any lot during the day, d’Autremont said. “It comes down to this equation: if you want to move your car from place to place, we can’t protect you,” he said. After the forums, several faculty and staff said the discussion left them satisfied.
“I liked him and I felt that he heard me,” Fran Shepherd, who works at the School of Medicine, said of d’Autremont.
She always finds parking, she said, because she gives rides to students back to their cars after class. Then she takes their spot. She figures students aren’t afraid of riding with her because she’s a female. “I have a convertible, so they know they can jump out,” she joked.
Meanwhile, Karen Riggs-Saberton, a staff member from Calit2, said she likes the idea of a regional transit pass and doesn’t like parking structures, which she described as expensive and inefficient. She also said she was concerned d’Autremont plans for the future relied heavily on the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, which is overextended and faces budget cuts. But she praised d’Autremont’s performance.
“I do think he’s doing a fantastic job,” she said.
Riggs-Saberton takes the 150 bus to campus from her Pacific Beach home. In the evenings, she often waits for buses that never show up, or are full and don’t stop. So she walks to the bus stop before hers, in hopes that the bus won’t be full there. She might try to join a vanpool in her area, or buy a car and a parking permit, she said.
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