by Arthur Simoni and Marisa Demarco
Daily Lobo
With record enrollment and limited parking space, UNM Parking and Transportation Services is conducting an online survey until May 1 to determine how to cope with the ever-present dilemma.
Josh Kavanaugh, Parking and Transportation Services associate director, said the department is working with Walker Parking Consultants to take a deeper look at a long-range solution. UNM is also holding four parking forums today between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
"We're thrilled that so many students chose UNM, but keeping up with demand has been hard on our bottom line," Kavanaugh said. "With extra buses and bus drivers, we've seen our labor costs go up by 30 percent, fuel by 29 percent and maintenance by 70 percent."
Those cost increases could very likely raise parking permit prices, but Kavanaugh said they won't know if it will happen, or by how much until April 29. He said the results of the survey will shape any future permit increases.
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Brian Eagan, a student and former employee of UNM transportation information, said that as demand goes up and supply goes down, it shouldn't surprise anyone when prices rise as well. Eagan said students should read between the lines when answering the survey.
"What's insidious about it is that no one is very open about it," Eagan said.
He said questions like "How much would you be willing to pay per year," benefit parking services and not students, because the department will raise prices as high as the market is willing to bear.
Eagan said working for parking services gave him several ideas that UNM could implement to help ease parking burdens.
"If they want to keep student permits cheap, they should make more shuttle lots and they should stop over-selling those lots," Eagan said. "Shuttle lots are a lot cheaper than structures."
Kavanaugh said UNM is looking at numerous strategies to deal with the parking to keep up with the growing demand.
"Our biggest challenge is that the most flexible and economical places to build new parking are at the edges of the University," he said. "Consequently, transportation costs will continue to increase."
Kavanaugh said students should consider biking, walking, busing and carpooling to ease time spent looking for parking.
"Short of that, planning for parking, budgeting time to ride shuttles, taking classes at off-peak times and minimizing parking violations help us more efficiently manage space and deliver better service to the University," he said.
Eagan said he is glad parking services is conducting the survey and taking student input at the forum, and he hopes the situation improves.
"What they're doing isn't just about parking," he said. "They're encouraging people to take mass transit, and that's good, but it doesn't really help everything."
UNM Parking Forums
9 a.m.- 10:30 a.m.
ACC 2nd Floor Learning Center
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
SUB Scholars Room
1 p.m.- 2:30 p.m.
SUB Scholars Room
3 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
SUB Scholars Room
5 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
ACC 2nd Floor Learning Center
7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Continuing Education, Room G
