For the first time since 1999, freshman residents will enjoy the privilege of parking on campus.

With the adoption of the new policy, and no parking lot expansion to accompany it, there will be more people competing for fewer spaces.

A decision to restrict freshman residents from parking on campus, implemented by Parking Services in 1999, was meant to alleviate a severe congestion problem in the West Road and Freret Street garages.

University Police Capt. Roger Pinac said he believes that due to reduced enrollment, more spaces will be available and therefore congestion should not be an issue.

Residents, however, have differing opinions about the new policy.

“I think (freshman resident parking) is awesome,” said Rebecca Gardener, marketing freshman. “A lot of people from out of town don’t have cars, and because there are no streetcars, a lot of my friends feel trapped. If you wanted to go to the zoo or the museum, you couldn’t.”

Gardener sees the new policy as a way for local freshmen to help the out-of-towners experience the Big Easy’s pleasures – museums, the mall, theaters, the Fly, sno-balls and the French Quarter – via a comfortable car ride.

“I totally understand that upperclassmen should have privileges over freshmen, but I think it’ll be OK, because I’ve never had trouble parking,” she said. “There’s always at least 10 spots open.”

However, veteran commuters such as Willie Wilson, marketing sophomore, have felt the strain created by the new parking policy.

“I find it hard to get a spot. I’m always rushing to class,” he said. “I drove up all the way to the top floor of the garage and still couldn’t find a spot. It’s a frustrating thing.”

A parking regulations bulletin, published in 2004 before Parking Services adopted the newly-implemented freshman resident policy, addressed concerns about available parking. “Space limitations,” the bulletin reads, which is available on the University Police Department’s Web site, “do not permit the assigning of spaces for all vehicles possessing a parking permit.”

A decal, the bulletin adds, does not guarantee its owner the right to park in unauthorized areas or in illegal spaces if no parking space is available in the designated parking areas.

Parking regulations limit residential parking to the Freret Street garage weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. However, on the weekend residents may park in any student-approved parking space.

Capt. Pinac of UP maintains that, given the changes accompanying this year, there is simply more parking space with which to work.

“We have fewer people and smaller classes because of reductions in faculty, staff and students. We just have more space,” he said.

A secondary factor considered in the decision was the possibility of hurricane evacuation. “For parents, it was a way to mediate (that concern),” said Pinac.

In the Sept. 28, 1999 issue of The Maroon, Robert Reed, director of Residential Life, acknowledged that even the new restrictive measure wouldn’t completely solve the parking riddle.

“I don’t think this policy will guarantee a parking spot, but it will make finding one a bit easier. Think of a parking decal as a hunting license for a parking space,” Reed said.

With the policy abandoned, the possibility of similar congestion problems are there.

Pinac acknowledged that residents, for the most part, park their cars on Monday and don’t move them until Friday.

“Should it become a problem for commuters, we’ll look at adjustments,” he said.

PAYING TO PARK

A parking matter causing no ambivalence among the student body is the strenuous prices of decals.

“The prices are outrageous,” said Stuart Schneider, accounting sophomore. “I’m not even paying them.” Instead, Schneider has opted to ride a bicycle from his home on Dante Street to avoid the financial strain.

“The prices are ridiculous. I paid $50 in high school for the year,” Wilson said. “Now it’s $340 (for a year’s parking at Loyola).”

According to the parking regulations bulletin, residents pay $400 for a year-long decal, while commuters pay $340.

“I’ve been in charge of parking since 2000,” Pinac said, “and we haven’t raised those prices once.”

Parking isn’t simply a student issue, however. Faculty members also pay to park, but instead of having fixed rates like students, the price for a faculty decal fluctuates based upon the individual’s salary. Faculty and staff parking privileges are limited to “normal working hours,” the bulletin states.

“It depends on the time of day,” said Jim Hobbs, online services coordinator for the Monroe Library, regarding the availability of parking. “It’s easier in the morning, but it becomes harder as the day goes on.”

Hobbs also concluded that parking availability depends on which garage he attempts to park in – the easiest being the Freret Street garage, he said. “West Road garage is closer to buildings and classes, so more people tend to try to park there,” he said.

With regard to faculty pricing, Hobbs thinks the sliding scale structure is fair. “New faculty pays less than someone who’s been here longer,” he said. “I think that’s fine.”

The amount being charged is appropriate, Hobbs said, given the hemmed-in geography of the Uptown neighborhood in which the university tries to accommodate mass parking.

Pinac clarified that the money charged for decals goes into the university’s general fund. “You’re looking at servicing the indebtedness of the garages, the maintenance, security fees and upgrades like cameras,” he said.

The price of decals is a matter of the market, Pinac said. “If we lowered the price to $15, everyone would be able to afford a permit. And then no one would find a place to park,” he said. “So the market plays into it.”

SOME STAYS THE SAME

Most other Parking Services policies carried over from last year remain un-amended.

Parking violations are still $20 for non-permit holders and $15 for those with a valid permit.

The bulletin maintains the following as immobilization violations: Parking in restricted, reserved or loading zones; on walkways or in barricaded areas; blocking driveways, roadways or entrance to buildings; and parking on grass.

Such violations, the bulletin specifies, will result in the vehicle being wheel-locked. Removal of the wheel-lock will cost non-permit holders $75 and permit holders $25.

Administrative violations, such as fraudulently obtaining a parking decal – a student or faculty member obtaining a permit for a person not affiliated with the university – or using a guest parking permit as a student or faculty member, results in fines of $50 for each permit holder involved and $250 for every non-permit holder.

The bulletin also states that repeated violations of administrative provisions and serious moving violations could result in disciplinary action over and above any fines incurred through ticketing issued by either university police or student marshals.

Pinac estimates that UP deals with only a dozen administrative violations a year, mostly involving students getting parking decals for people not affiliated with the university.

Ramon Vargas can be reached at [email protected].

For a copy of the bulletin, visit www.loyno.edu/parking.