The Parking and Transportation Department advising committee is brainstorming new ways to better the parking problem, despite operating at a $4.4 million deficit at California State University, Long Beach.
The committee, comprised of undergraduate and graduate students, professors and Associated Student Inc. members, has been assembled to provide feedback and ideas to fix the parking situation. Earlier this month, the committee discussed raising the parking permit prices in order to provide improvements.
The Parking and Transportation Department is a self-funded program, meaning that it runs off the revenue it collects. During the 2014-2015 school year the department collected a total of $9.5 million in fees, but the overall cost of the department amounted to $13.9 million, said Michael Uhlenkamp, executive director of media at CSULB.
“The challenge is the revenue is not enough to cover the costs right now,” Uhlenkamp said. “The reality is we need additional revenue.”
The department was able to get the additional funding it needed to operate from a reserve they have available, but the committee is generating new ideas to provide additional revenue.
Uhlenkamp said that one of the ideas the committee is looking at to lessen the ongoing parking congestion is an app for students to let them know what parking spots are available and where.
If the committee agrees to raise the price of the parking permits, they want students to know it would be beneficial, Uhlenkamp said. They are looking at what students want and what is realistic in terms of how to solve the problem.
Students have their own ideas about how to diffuse the parking tension, some more costly than others.
“Honestly if they made another parking structure closer to upper campus that would be better,” sophomore criminal justice major Austin Khiev said.
Although students would want another parking structure, realistically it is out of the question, said Uhlenkamp. The university would have to go through the Chancellor’s Office to be granted a revenue bond, which would cost a great deal of money, Uhlenkamp said. Instead the parking committee is looking at ways to expand the current lots and provide better service to the students.
“If it was like the computer lab it would be cool,” senior communication studies major Neelam Shirzad said. “We can reserve a parking spot at a certain time like how we reserve the computer in the library.”
Shirzad said she would not mind a parking fee increase if it allowed her to reserve a parking spot or know how many parking spots are available in certain structures. She said that her community college in Torrance had digital monitors that showed students how many parking spots were available on each level.
“If a little community college in Torrance could afford it then so can CSULB,” Shirzad said.
Senior public relations major Shandya Tillfelt said that her biggest issue is time; students do not have time to waste in order to find parking. A parking fee increase of $20-50 would be okay if there is more space for students to park, she said.
“I would pay more just to know I’m going to class on time,” Tillfelt said. “I would love to know if there’s space in a parking lot so I don’t waste my time.”
In order to implement technology into the parking lots, the fees will need to be increased, Uhlenkamp said. The amount of how much the permits will increase has not yet been decided.
Uhlenkamp said that students will know the committee’s decision by the end of 2015 or beginning 2016.
Have they tried figuring out how they can cut costs? Prices on parking here are ALREADY ridiculous. How in the word does it cost 13.9 million to run a parking department?