Concerned members of the University community voiced opposition to increased parking fees ordered by the new five-year plan Tuesday at a forum hosted by the Department of Public Safety.
Students and faculty complained primarily about two proposed changes: a $9 hike in student fees to cover nighttime parking costs and the introduction of a $250 permit for the Employee Commuter Alternative Program.
The plan would also raise the transportation fee from $73.50 to $142, an increase of 93 percent, during the next five years.
Explaining that the fees are necessary to offset a $6.1 million increase in transportation costs by the 2015-16 fiscal year, DPS Chief Jeff McCracken said the department is primarily targeting those who don’t already pay for parking to shoulder some of the burden.
“The plan is really designed to meet our financial obligations,” McCracken said.
“We are not attempting to regulate parking through this,” he said. “We are just trying to create revenue from those not paying.”
Students also expressed concern about overcrowding in parking decks after 5 p.m.
But Cheryl Stout, assistant director for parking services, said the proposed five-year plan will not seek to remedy that concern.
Faculty members protested the change to the Commuter Alternative Program, which currently provides employees a free space in park-and-ride lots.
