The parking lot east of The Union will become pay-per-use to allow more accessibility for students and community members.

News Editor

As SDSU faces changes in the coming months, students can expect to see some different parking options around campus.

One of the largest changes is coming about as The Union parking lot is being changed into a paid lot.

“We are trying to get The Union lot to a pay-as-you-go lot by the summer,” Dean Kattelmann, the assistant vice president for facilities and services, said. “A request for proposal has just been sent out, which asks to have that system in place by fall 2011.”

“We are looking at possibly making the north half of The Union parking lot, which is now visitor parking, into a metered parking lot,” Student Associations’ vice-president Anthony Sutton said. “We are trying to work on the card swipe system during the summer, and everything should be in place when students return in the fall.”

Along with the new pay system, university officials are looking at having a sign placed near Caldwell Hall that will indicate when the lot is full.

“We are really just trying to make the building more accessible for students and the community,” Sutton said. “The pay as you go feature would aid in events on campus and would also allow organizations to block spots off before an event if they needed to.”

In addition to The Union parking lot change, two gravel lots are currently being created north of Coughlin-Alumni Stadium that will be free for student use.

“The first one has already been built, and the second one will be completed over the summer break,” Kattelmann explained.

“There will be a one-time $20 cost for the decal just so UPD knows that [a certain] car has been registered through the school” Sutton said.

Sutton said that conversations about how to best handle the parking in those lots on game days will have to happen soon.

The changes in parking have also caused some slight changes in the pricing of passes for the coming year.

“When the Board of Regents was here in Brookings, they set the prices they would like to see on campus,” Sutton said. “They really felt that we needed to simplify the rates.”

In doing so, rates were set so that a pass for the residence halls and commuter lots costs $120, while a reserved pass costs $240 and a remote parking pass, which allows an individual to park in areas by the PAC and Coughlin Stadium, will cost $60.

“The raise in the residence hall pass from $86 to $120 allowed the Parking and Traffic Committee to lower the parking fees for next year,” Sutton said. “Parking in the wrong lot or not properly displaying your parking pass will start to cost students $35. We have already decreased parking fees from $100 a couple years ago, and we aren’t sure where the bottom is.

All of the changes are an attempt to create a more environmental campus.

“Student need to understand that we are moving towards a walking campus and that we are trying to make our parking lots more safe and green,” Sutton said. “We really just want students to give the [changes] a chance and if they have any problems we are always looking to see what else we can do.”