Parking upgrades upset residents

Although UTSA has spent millions of dollars building two parking garages and expanding parking lots that benefit commuters, some on campus residents feel that little has been done to help their parking situation.

Even with the construction of the North Parking Garage behind Laurel Village Housing, residents were left out of the expansion process. According to Transportation Services Assistant Director Gwendolyn Bolden, the North Parking Garage is available to commuters, faculty and staff only. Students can purchase a garage permit for $300 at a limited availability.

Some students see the North Parking Garage as a threat.

"I think faculty and staff parking takes up too much of the resident lots," freshman communication major Taylor McNaught, a Laurel Village resident, said, "If we can't park in the North Garage than it should be strictly for faculty and staff, so residents will have free spaces. I think the parking problem is unfair."

Chief of Police David Hernandez thinks otherwise.

"Students are complaining about a system that was set up for their needs," Hernandez said. "I'm here until seven o'clock at night and I never see residential parking completely full."

According to Parking and Transportation's 1604 Campus Parking Map, residents can park only in Lot 14, Lot 12, Lot 1B, Lot 1A and University Oaks. Complaints have been made due to the inconvenience especially for Laurel Village Residents crossing Walter Brennan Ave.

"It's always a challenge to provide safety for students," Hernandez said. "Although we installed the crosswalks on Walter Brennan Ave. students still walk wherever they feel is convenient. The cars that are not stopping for the pedestrians are student drivers," Hernandez said.

"We need to remind students that these are their peers and there's a courtesy issue. We installed yellow lights that flash at night to remind students to slow down, but the only thing left that we can do is close down Walter Brennan Ave."

Even with the after-hours policy that allows residents to park in commuter spaces and Faculty B parking from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 a.m and anytime on weekends, students feel the problem has not been addressed.

"I think the parking problem is horrible. It needs to be addressed by UTSA and I feel they haven't been trying," sophomore political science major Isaiah Tillman said.

With citation prices increasing and parking spots decreasing, resident parking has become a nightmare.

"The citations are higher to deter students from violating," Bolden said. "Our prices are fairly inexpensive when you look at other campuses such as UT Austin and UT El Paso."

According to www.utexas.edu/parking, fines for parking with a permit not authorized for the UT Austin campus lots are $25; at UTSA, fines for parking without the proper permit is $50.

"When I went to UTSA I was outraged by the citations prices; I think they are illegal," UT Austin student Matthew Mason said. "I'm glad that I transferred to UT Austin. Not only are their prices cheaper, but they actually care about their students."

According to Bolden, transportation services are always available to those who have complaints, questions or who want to file appeals can do so through www.utsa.edu/parking.

"We are trying to make information more available to residents," Bolden said. "We are here for the students. We have a parking and traffic committee where we discuss issues that have been brought to our attention."

According to Bolden, there is no plan to expand residential parking at the moment. But there is an overall master plan to develop another parking garage strictly for residents.

The UTSA Police and Parking and Transportation services are located in the Plant Building next to Laurel Village.