Parking spaces on campus are opening up this school year while construction sites near completion and temporary overflow sites allow more vehicles.
“Parking availability on main campus is expected to be better this year than any time over the previous 15 years,” said Alma Allred, director of Commuter Services.
Parking spaces that were closed off last year because of construction will once again become available, Allred said.
For example, construction around the Warnock Engineering Building has occupied parking space for the past couple of years as a staging area to prepare materials.
Completion of work on the building will open the parking lots to student and employee use.
“There is limited staging area (for construction) on campus,” said Joseph Harman, director of campus design and construction. “But as much as possible, we require contractors to manage materials off-site.”
Both Allred and Harman said that parking availability might also improve this year because students and faculty have begun to utilize temporary overflow sites and mass transit options.
Temporary parking space is available south of the hospital where the old campus Residence Halls were torn down. Another 765 spaces are now available east of the Language and Communication building.
The U has also recently leased parking space from the LDS Institute of Religion. The top two levels of the Institute parking structure can now be used by anyone with a parking pass.
Prices for U parking permits vary. Student permits are $60 for an “E” pass and $120 for a “U” pass. These prices have not changed for the last six years. Faculty and staff permit prices will increase as part of a five-year adjustment schedule.
While temporary parking overflows are provided and campus construction clears up, the U administrators continue to make plans to provide convenient parking space on campus.
Two sites are being considered for potential parking structures: underneath Presidents’ Circle and northeast of the Park Building on 100 South.
“(The) University administration is concerned about the lack of parking,” said Norm Chambers, vice president for administrative services. “But new parking structures will require a substantial donation to be feasible.”
The projects are still pending and will need to be approved by the U’s Board of Trustees, the Board of Regents and the Utah State Legislature.