Students only group to see parking loss

It’s a constant battle in campus parking lots.

As construction projects significantly reduce parking, those looking for spaces are left driving in circles.

Officials say 923 fewer students, employees and faculty members secured permits at the beginning of the 2004-05 academic year than at the start of the prior year — construction sites had taken over the lots.

“I think people appreciate the facilities that will eventually be here, but I think it’s frustrating when you’re scrambling just to get to work,” said Judith Wegner, chairwoman of the faculty.

Still, officials stress that the sacrifice is temporary and will pay off in the long run.

By the year 2010, the campus will boast a net gain of 1,574 parking spaces, which would benefit visitors and University employees.

Campus administrators approved a master plan for University construction in March 2001 that should add 3.6 million square feet of space to campus, about 1.9 of which would consist of new parking spaces.

A transportation study released in August 2001 stated that the plan would permanently eliminate 3,811 parking spaces but would add 5,366 new spots through eight new parking decks — a net gain of 1,550 spaces — by the year 2010.

Students would lose a total of 239 spaces, while employees would gain 421. Patients and visitors would see an increase of 1,398 parking spots.

Since 2001 there have been various modifications to the plan — including the deletion of a 932-space parking deck on Manning Drive and a 600-space parking deck from the new science complex.

But other planned parking was added to make up for the losses, and the modifications, the last of which was in May 2004, resulted in a projected net increase of 24 spaces — bringing the grand total to 1,574 spaces.

The fruits of this construction have yet to be seen, though, and commuters are caught in the middle in the interim.

“The number of spaces on North Campus has shrunk to a level that makes it really difficult for teachers to come to campus other than class,” said Chief Derek Poarch, director of the Department of Public Safety.

“The interaction between faculty and staff is being hampered by this.”

The recent completion of the Rams Head Center parking deck added 700 parking spaces to campus, and Young said other parking decks will open soon. Those include the Cobb parking deck, which will have 442 spaces and will open in 2006.

To ease the effects of this parking pinch until the decks are built, officials said the way employees commute to campus must change.

While 72 percent of faculty and staff came to campus with a parking permit in 2001, officials project that this number will have to be reduced to 54 percent by the end of the development plan in 2008.

These UNC employees instead will have to take mass transit and use park-and-ride lots, which can be attractive options for commuters because they are free.

“We have already instituted great progress in people’s willingness to utilize alternative modes of transportation,” said Randy Young, Department of Public Safety spokesman.

Public safety officials said they always are looking for more places to expand.

One option is the Commuter Alternative Program, which is free to join and is designed to reward University employees and students who carpool or do not drive to campus.

Employees in the program receive nine one-day parking permits and student participants receive two one-day parking permits. Young said there are now 4,500 participants in the program.

Another method University officials are using to alleviate parking problems is a reduction in permits for retired faculty and staff.

This year, the University doled out 504 such free permits, but Poarch said that next year the number will be capped at 350, and each permit will cost $267 .

“It’s our hope that these things will help to start fixing this,” Poarch said.

“If not, we’ll come back next year and try to fix it again.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.