A third of general parking at the University of Memphis will be eliminated when the university begins construction on a new recreation center and pedestrian bridge. As a result, the per semester parking fee will increase from $42 to $69 to cover the cost of a parking garage that will replace the lost spaces.
Parking at the University of Memphis will be more difficult and possibly more expensive in the coming years.
The University will eliminate one-third of the general parking at the main campus when construction of a new recreation center and pedestrian bridge begins. The bridge will cross the railroad tracks that run parallel to Southern Avenue.
U of M officials proposed building a new $18.6 million parking garage to make up for the lost spaces to the Student Government Association Senate Thursday. But funding for this garage, just like the recreation center and bridge, will largely come from an increase in student fees. Under this plan, parking fees for most full-time students would increase by 65 percent.
The average student would pay $27 more per semester. U of M students will also be on the hook for the $18.6 million garage for the next 30 years.
University of Memphis officials proposed building a new $18.6 million parking garage. In order to pay for it, parking fees would increase. Students paying for the general parking pass, which is the standard mandatory payment all full-time students pay, would increase the most.
The student senate does not have the power to increase student fees, but they are expected to vote on whether or not they agree with the fee hike on Feb. 4 during their 7:30 p.m. meeting.
>>>Here's more details on which parking spaces will be eliminated<<<
However, if the University does not build the garage, it will lose 695 parking spots after the new recreation center and bridge are built, said Angela Floyd, director of Parking and Transportation Services at the U of M.
Yet, some members of the senate seemed disappointed by the numbers.
After subtracting the number of parking spaces lost to the new recreation center and bridge, the garage and other expanded parking lots will only add an extra 245 parking spaces to the main campus.
“If we get rid of 695 spaces, there will be no options left but to have people park at Park Avenue and shuttle them in.†- Angela Floyd, director of Parking and Transportation Services at the U of M.
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One student senator questioned if that was worth the $18.6 million price tag.
Floyd said if fees were not increased to to build the garage, parking at the main campus will be impossible for many students.
“I don’t know if any of you guys have been out in the general parking lots on Tuesday and Thursday between 10 and noon, but it’s pretty tight,†Floyd said. “If we get rid of 695 spaces, there will be no options left but to have people park at Park Avenue and shuttle them in.â€
The U of M can gain less than 250 spaces by raising student fees and building an $18.6 million parking garage or it will lose about 700 parking spaces afterthe new recreation center and pedestrian bridge are completed. Ali Kingston, speaker of the SGA Senate, said the parking fee must be raised.
“I think the parking garage has to be built,†she said. “Students will be more mad if they have to park at the Park Avenue campus. It’s going to add more time to the commute.†Most of the members of the student senate voted in favor of building the new recreation center and knew that it would eliminate some parking Kingston said.
“It was very much clear that we had to put it somewhere,†she said. “But a lot of research and time was spent trying to make our rec more competitive. It was amazing that we got the land bridge past and rec center. Parking was a big deal, but it wasn’t as big as some of the other issues we were dealing with at the time.â€Â
Student fee hike
Right now most full-time students pay a mandatory $42 per semester to park at the U of M main campus.
These same students will pay $69 per semester starting fall 2017 in order to pay for the new parking garage.
“We really want to replenish what will be taken from the main campus to make it convenient for students,†Floyd said. “But that will cost money. We tried to put in for a grant, but that was denied.â€
Students who pay for priority parking will pay $95 per semester starting fall 2017, which is only $5 more than what they are paying now.
Floyd said that most students are unaware they even pay to park at the University of Memphis campus. Yet, parking fees collected from students almost entirely pay for the $3.4 million needed to fund the U of M’s Parking and Transportations Services department.
“We don’t receive any state funds,†Floyd said. “Whatever money we bring in from our revenue streams – which is mainly permit sales, citations and meters – that’s all used to pay for our entire operation.â€
While the U of M’s Parking and Transportation Services does have a Renewal and Replacement fund, which acts like department savings account, much of it was spent to expand parking or on new technologies.
The University spent $1.6 million to create 725 more parking spaces at the Park Avenue, Community Health Center and alumni lots. The U of M also designated $1.4 million from their renewal fund for new technology. Soon, gates at priority lots will automatically open when a priority chip hangtag is detected.
The U of M is working on a cellphone app that will show how many parking spaces are available at any lot on campus. New sensors soon to be installed in Blue Line shuttles will give a more accurate count of how many people ride each route.
“This will allow us to know which routes we should eliminated,†Floyd said.
The Blue Line, which is funded through parking services, is was a hot topic at the student senate meeting.
Many students feel the shuttles run empty, but Floyd said that nearly 60,000 students ride the shuttles each school year.
“The Blue Line is here to stay,†Floyd said.
