With the loss of the Union lot, now more than ever students are concerned about the parking situation on the UW campus.
In the past few years, the parking situation at the university has changed significantly. The construction of the new dorms led to a widespread student outcry about the proposed destruction of the Union lot.
With the primary bus plaza being centered on the union lot in addition to a wide range of parking for students, faculty, staff, and community members alike to access the amenities of the library and the student union, the loss of the lot was a highly disapproved change.
This change came with unrest from the student body over what was seemingly a shrinking number of options for parking on campus as they struggled to find somewhere to go or were forced to deal with lengthy transit times.
Director of Transportation Services Paul Kunkel acknowledged these concerns and noted, “As long as I have been here students have been frustrated about parking. We have always had construction on campus but this is a whole new level, with the closing of the union lot and a few other lots on 15th it’s a lot of change in a couple years due to the new residence halls going up.”
He also stated that, “We have actually added parking, the addition of the Ivinson parking garage has added parking on the west side of campus, which has resulted in there being more commuter student options for parking since before I got here.”
On the state of the Union lot and by proxy, community member parking on campus, Kunkel stated that there will be no union parking even after the construction is done.
The entirety of the lot will be converted to green space in a form that will likely be reminiscent of Prexie’s Pasture.
However, the transportation department has established paid parking in the horseshoe as well as the parking garage which will offset this loss. In addition, the Knight Hall bus stop allows easy Union access.
Kunkel also spoke on parking permit sales, explaining that the transportation office, “sells a limit per each parking zone depending on utilization.”
Many students have claimed across campus that the lots their permits apply to are always full and thus the permits are rendered useless. The transportation office wants to ensure students know that there are spaces for them and they may just not be aware of all the zones their permits apply to.
In the future, Kunkel hopes to open roughly 100 new spots near zone 106 in addition to adding a new bus plaza and speeding up bus routes upon the reopening of 15th street.
He wanted to make sure students are aware that there is plenty of parking available on campus and the transit office is always available if students need to reach out.
The office is aware that parking and transit problems can be complex and confusing and they are more than willing to help scope out options for students and their unique situations.
