Parking has gone a long way since 1995 when paid parking on campus had just begun. It was $53 for a park- ing spot and no increases were implemented until now. This year we're seeing a 50% increase in rates which totals to $80, leaving some students wondering why the price has risen while at the same time tuition has gone up by 5.8% from last year.

Sources from the Student Union explained that tuition hikes and the increased cost of

Snare Change: The Ins and Outs of UPEI Parking

parking permits are due to funding cuts by the Binns government. UPEI was promised one mil- lion dollars in funding but had only received $750,000, leav- ing students to foot the bill. That, and increasing operating costs are putting both students and staff in difficult positions when finding the cash to pay for a place to park.

Al Veale of Security and Parking also explains that it's fairly expensive keeping the lots maintained. The infra-

a\

Sharine the 450 perk ing pass.

UPEI Cadre September 14, 2004 page 14__

structure of park- ing lots is some- thing we may not take into account when purchasing passes but the contents may be surprising. It consists of: resurfacing the lots, new lots, improving the pavement, ensuring proper lighting in parking lots, snow removal, signage. With all that com- bined, "Each new individual parking space works out to be about $1500," explained Veale. ;

However, students and staff have a choice before purchas- ing passes. There are two dif- ferent parking permits avail- able. The university is selling general parking passes at $80 per student and $122 per fac- ulty member. The alternative would be to purchase a Capital Area Recreation Inc. parking permit (which only allow you to park in CARI lots) for the same price. This is an advanta- geous option because spots in the CARI lots are virtually guaranteed due to the fact that no more than 300 passes will be sold for the 300 spots, while UPEI is selling unlimit- ed passes for 1048 spots.

Selling unlimited passes does have its benefits, as students who are only on campus for a few hours a day leave most of the day open for others to park. It also keeps the rates

from skyrocketing and gives

students a chance to get to class early and park legally rather than be denied passes

and be forced to park kilome-

tres away.

In an interview with Al Veale; he explained that with the. relining of the parking lots there is more capacity for parking and the usage of the lots has become more effi- cient. Though construction is occupying several spots, the relining has balanced the equation, thus making it possi- ble for more spots.

Another important change to note is the visitor spots. New this year, any student or staff member may park in a visitor spot but must follow the usual regulations for that area. Visitor spots run at $1.00/hr — with a max. of $5.00 per day. - There are currently 56 visitor parking spaces on campus. Also note this year they've introduced parking metres. Charlottetown went from metres to kiosks while UPEI ~ went from kiosks to metres. Veale admitted that kiosks were a great idea, but didn't prove to work out well at UPEL Ticket stubs were blow- ing out windows, and it was really an inconvenience for people having to walk back to their car. This way, with park- ing spread out across