Students may see parking fee hikes next semester to fund more parking projects. 
Vice President for Finance and Administration Daniel Layzell updated the LSU Board of Supervisors on the Parking Advisory Committee’s progress at the March meeting. At the urging of Huron Consulting Group, the Board formed the committee last spring. 
The timeline submitted to the Board projects a new fee structure to be implemented by fall 2015 for students, faculty and staff. But Senior Director of Parking and Transportation Jeff Campbell said administrators are still working on what the fee structure will look like.
“That was kind of the goal to have everything squared away this spring and then try to implement some type of fee increase, but we just haven’t been able to get the information pulled together,” Campbell said. “I think the advisory group is still trying to figure out exactly what direction they’re supposed to be going.”
The committee analyzes campus parking and implementing a more sustainable plan for growth, Campbell said. Currently, the lone source of parking revenue comes from permit sales.
Annual parking for students costs $165 for surface parking and $330 inside the Union Square parking garage.
Parking at campuses across the nation is shifting to structured parking, such as Union Square, rather than surface areas. As the University expands and builds new structures for academic purposes, those buildings take up more space that can be used for parking.
The logical conclusion is to build up, Campbell said.
“If we’re going to be able to build structures, we’ve got to figure out how we’re going to raise that type of revenue in order to build structures instead of surface parking,” Campbell said.
Parking fees have not increased since 2013, Campbell said, and the University charges far less than peer institutions.
While Campbell does not expect the University to raise the cost to match those universities, he does predict an increase in parking fees in the
future.
“We can’t continue to operate the way we’re operating and make a minimal amount of revenue in order to build,” Campbell said. “The funding model for parking has got to change, so if they task us with building structures then we’ve got to look at the funding model.”
A new parking structure typically costs between $15 and $20 million to build, Campbell said. The Union Square garage, which opened in March 2013, cost $22.5 million.
Though students ask for more parking, what the University needs is more convenient parking, Campbell said. But with one source of revenue, it is hard to replace lost spaces quickly.
Before a higher fee would take effect, Campbell said the committee would involve the campus community by talking to the Student, Faculty and Staff Senates.
“Any time you start talking about fee increases  of course you’re going to get push back,” Campbell said. “So we want to include them and make sure everybody’s on board and nobody’s going to get upset.”