In addition to fuel costs, parking tickets and traffic, students and employees who drive to campus can expect a parking permit fee increasein the near future. According to the Parking and Transportation Master Plan adopted in 2005 by the LSU Board of Supervisors, annual student parking permits will peak at $100 in August 2009, and employee fees are set to range from $250 to $1,000. Students currently pay $75 for an annual parking permit but will be required to pay $87 in August 2008, more than double the $39 price in 2004. Kyle Musacchia, history freshman, said he thinks the increase in parking permit fees is ridiculous. “We pay a lot to go to school regardless of TOPS, and it is outrageous to pay that much for a piece of air to park your vehicle,” Musacchia said. “As it is, it seems like you have to walk five miles to get to class from where you do end up parking.” But employees can expect the biggest price increase. Employees seeking to purchase a regular B parking plan will have to pay $209 in August 2008 and $250 in August 2009, nearly a $70 increase from what they currently pay. Before the master plan began, employees paid $57 in 2004 for a regular permit. Employees who pay $359 for a C parking plan will be expected to pay $500 for an annual permit in 2009, an increase from the $147 in 2004. But the price of a limited reserved parking permit is expected to soar to $1,000 in 2009, a sharp increase from the $657 employees pay now for a reserved spot. Maiia Bakhova, a business calculus instructor who rides her bicycle to campus each day, said she thinks the price of parking permits should increase because there are too many cars on campus. The fifth-year mathematics graduate student said the University should make bicycle parking more convenient so less people would be inclined to drive vehicles to campus. “I have seen many other university campuses that have less cars,” she said. Tracy LeBlanc, linguistics instructor, said she thinks parking should be commensurate with employee salaries. “I wouldn’t mind if the permit fee was equivalent to the same base in other SEC schools,” she said. Gary Graham, director of the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation, said permit prices increased for the first time since 1982 with the 2005 master plan. The University is in its third year of the five-year master plan to be completed in 2009, and Graham said the increased fees come in an effort to afford an estimated $20 million parking garage on campus. “We are one of the only universities without a garage,” Graham said. “Once we determined we needed a garage, we knew we would only afford one with a fee increase.” Graham said construction plans for the garage are in the preliminary stages, but a meeting next week will finalize design options. He said the meeting will determine if the parking office has the necessary funds to complete the project expected to provide 750 parking spaces for commuters. The meeting will also finalize the location, which is planned to replace the Highland Dining Hall, Women’s Center and African American Cultural Center on Raphael Semmes Road. LeBlanc said she thinks the University could have picked a less controversial location for the garage. “If a tenant of your Flagship Agenda is to be about diversity, you should back up that claim by representing the diversity,” LeBlanc said. Graham said despite the fee increases, the University lags behind the national average of parking permit prices. In 2005, the University ranked 19th with parking fees out of 24 universities studied in the nation. Graham said after the five-year plan is complete, the University will rank 13th. “We need to get the parking permit price up to the average,” he said. “After the fee increases, we will be at the middle of the pack.” Danielle Alfandre, communications disorder instructor, said she is against the idea of parking permit fees altogether. “I don’t think you should have to pay to go to work,” she said. “But I do think a parking garage is long overdue.” Chris Eilek, electrical engineering sophomore, said he commutes to school and does not feel like paying more money for a parking permit. “Most students don’t pay any money for their parking permits,” Eilek said. “But it’s still going to be more expensive for whoever pays for it.” Graham said he knows no one wants to pay more than they have to. “The fee increases are critical, and we can’t do certain things based on low fees,” Graham said. “The cost of gas for a year is in the thousands; $100 doesn’t seem out of line when compared to other costs.”
—-Contact Natalie Messina at [email protected]