The Daily Tar Heel

Serving the students and the University community since 1893

Monday March 20th

Parking



Scott Reece, 45, helps his wife, Nunny Reece, 41, who has stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, tie her shoes on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. Nunny Reece and her husband frequent UNC Hospital often and face additional challenges due to parking costs, which typically are up to $10 a day. On this day, Reece had a parking permit due to her receiving radiation treatment all week. 

'It broke us' : Parking fees strain cancer patients while building revenue for UNC

Most long-term patients, such as those with cancer, pay the same amount for parking at UNC Hospitals as every other visitor throughout the state. Some are exasperated over the additional toll those parking fees add to their week-by-week treatment schedules.  While alternative options have been created for a few specific circumstances, many patients don’t qualify and have seen parking expenses pile up. Meanwhile, the University generated $3.7 million in revenue last year through its Dogwood Parking Deck, one of two primary parking areas for UNC Hospitals patients and visitors.

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Disgruntled with Chapel Hill parking? So are Franklin Street businesses

Since last July, eleven stores and restaurants in downtown Chapel Hill have closed their doors. Is lack of parking the culprit? Parking in downtown Chapel Hill is an issue that community members and business owners alike have felt. Shops on Franklin Street need parking for their employees, but also for patrons who cannot walk from one place to another. Some businesses even find that passersby go elsewhere where parking is more convenient, thereby driving away local business traffic.  A few newer solutions popped up, like Park on the Hill, which attempt to maximize parking availability. But dissatisfaction is still high.

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