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The Daily Tar Heel

Meeting Will Address Night Parking

TPAC members will discuss the results of a recent online night parking survey conducted by the Department of Public Safety that aims to determine where, why and how often students, faculty and staff seek night parking.

Members will discuss which campus lots should be restricted for night parking, how and when night parking regulations should be enforced and possible permit requirements.

Assistant Provost and TPAC Chairwoman Linda Carl said the primary purpose of the meeting is to increase knowledge about the issue, adding that no decisions would be made.

Student Body President Justin Young and Vice President Rudy Kleysteuber -- both of whom have expressed discontent about the possibility of night parking regulations and the way in which TPAC has handled the issue -- said they will attend today's meeting.

"I definitely plan on speaking at the meeting, and I want to bring up other news and issues that I've heard," said Young, who led a protest in the Pit prior to last week's TPAC meeting.

Young said he thinks students and their opinions have been ignored in the decision-making process regarding night parking. "Right now we're trying to get students to e-mail their concerns to the committee."

Young and Kleysteuber both expressed disappointment after an Oct. 24 TPAC meeting where it was announced that Provost Robert Shelton and Nancy Suttenfield, vice chancellor for finance and administration, had decided to phase out campus parking for on-campus residents.

But Carl said input from students -- other than the three student members of TPAC -- will be limited at the meeting. "Students are welcome to come, and we will allow questions after all business has been taken care of and if time allows."

But some committee members have voiced concern about how a parking shortage affects members of the campus community other than students.

TPAC member Tom Smith, director of hospital police and transportation, stressed the importance of parking to people affiliated with health affairs. He said employees should be given more consideration than students in discussions because lack of parking causes problems for UNC Hospitals.

Smith said, "I don't think that students decide not to come here because of parking, but employees do decide not to work here because of parking."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.

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