The ASUW ad hoc parking committee believes there is no parking crisis on campus after meeting this past weekend regarding the removal of the Union parking lot and other parking issues on campus.
The parking committee “decided that there’s not really a parking crisis on campus,” but rather, “there’s just not enough awareness about what’s happening,” according to Caitlin “Cait” Heddins, the ASUW Director of Governmental and Community Affairs and chair of the parking committee.
This is a stark change of opinion from late last month when Heddins attended a Laramie City Council meeting on behalf of the ASUW to voice student’s concerns including opposition to the university’s current plan to remove the parking lots just east of the Union and Half-acre Gym.
The parking committee changed their opinion primarily due to a belief that the parking garage being built on Ivinson, the creation of commuter lots and extended public transport hours will adequately solve parking issues on campus.
Heddins outlined that in an attempt to balance the removal of the 90 spots in the current day lot east of Half-acre Gym, the university plans to have 40 of the spaces on the first floor of the Ivinson Parking Garage designated as metered spots, where one can pay to park for a specified period of time.
Heddins continued to explain that the remaining 335 spots in the Ivinson parking garage will be reserved specifically for those with a parking pass.
It has not been officially announced many of these spots will be specifically for students, and it is projected that a parking garage student permit will cost $390.
The university also plans to turn certain parking lots east of War Memorial Stadium into commuter lots with a bus linkage to the main campus.
To make commuter lots and other areas far from the main campus more accessible, the university plans to extend the public bus schedule’s hours to 10:30 p.m., and to continue to have SafeRide operate until 2 a.m..
“Students know parking is being taken away, but they don’t necessarily know there are solutions,” Heddins said.
This article is the first of a three-part series* that will take an in-depth look at the intricate parking situation on the University of Wyoming Campus.
*The next two parts will be linked below
