By Siobhan Johnson
As many of us have been made aware, the
UNC Transportation and Parking Advisory
Committee, TPAC, decided to ehminate
future on-campus parking for students dur
ing its Oct. 24 meeting. The decision came
after Provost Robert Shelton and Vice
Chancellor of Finance Nancy Suttenfield said
that UNC's parking problems will become
worse as the University embarks in the
development plan detailing campus growth
for the next 8 to 10 years.
The committee has not yet decided
whether parking will be gradually phased
out or if parking spaces will be removed
immediately. If the phase-out option were
adopted, the plan would come into effect
during the 2003-04 school year. During its
first year, the plan will take away on-campus
parking from sophomores and then juniors
the following year. The plan will continue
until parking is completely eliminated by
2006-2007. Under this plan, next year's
freshmen will never have residential parking
on campus.
But if the committee decides to remove
spaces immediately, on-campus students
could be permit-less as early as next semes
ter. However, Shelton said the plan likely
would not affect anyone until at least the
2002-03 school year. While he did not say if
residential parking would be reinstated after
the Development Plan is complete, Shelton
did say that the parking crunch would
"recover" with the new parking decks being
added as part of the plan.
Officials said the new fare-free busing sys
tem should get students around more easily
as well as the transportation of students to
off-campus lots once it is implemented in
January. Shelton said TPAC members are
now discussing whether buses will be run
ning later in the evenings to meet student
needs and that the decision will be
announced at a later time.
But he said the elimination plan will not
affect hardship parking, student commuter
parking or married student housing parking.
The committee is also considering new per
mit prices for faculty and student parking
and is discussing how to provide night park
ing as the University moves forward with the
development plan.
Shelton said continued campus growth
has forced administration to reconsider their
priorities in regards to parking issues. The
majority of the spaces that will be taken from
residents will be given to faculty.
Sue Estroff, the Faculty Council
Chairwoman, said faculty and staff do not
have access to reliable public transportation,
making their commutes to and from work a
frequent frustration.
"I think faculty would be happy not to
drive to work if there were reliable public
transportation, but there isn't," Estroff said.
"I've also gotten emails from professors in
the evening college who can't find spots at
night because of student parking."
Estroff said some faculty members have
waited as long as 15 years to receive parking
permits. Of the 14,558 parking spaces cur
rently on campus, 3,553 are held by students,
with 480 of those reserved for on-campus res
idents. The remaining 10,598 spots are desig
nated for faculty and staff.
Student leaders said they are surprised
and disappointed the student body was not
included in discussions on the future of on-
campus parking. Sophomore Dorothy Ariail,
one of three student members of the TPAC,
said the decision to remove the student
spaces had already been made by Shelton
and Suttenfield before the idea was present
ed to the committee.
Student Body President Justin Young also
said issues are typically discussed with a
committee before the decision is made, and
said he was disheartened by the lack of prior
consultation. "This sets a horrible precedent
for major decisions on campus," Young said.
UNC officials said they are not aware of
any student contributions prior to the deci
sion to eliminate parking.
Students have had mixed reactions about
the future removal of their on-campus park
ing. "The construction does cause inconven
iences, but I'm willing to make the sacrifice,"
Stacia Gaskin, a junior from New York, said.
"I'm glad the class of 2015 will have a more
aesthetically pleasing and technologically
advanced university. It will make my degree
look better. But then again, I don't have a car
here."
Sophomore Chris Dula also said that
although he believes giving more parking
spaces to faculty is a good idea, the plan
leaves many unanswered questions for stu
dents.
"I understand the need for faculty to have
more space, but they have more options than
we do when it comes to having transporta
tion," Dula said. "They can come to work on
the bus, but how am I supposed to get home
without myself or anyone I know having a
car?"
(pT-
□
2003-04
Faculty
Senjors
Juniors
Sophomores
2004-05
Faculty
Seniors
Juniors
2005-06
Faculty
Seniors
2006-07
Faculty
n
n
Top: The parking lot shows how stu
dents will gradually lose their parking
permits. By the 2006-2007 academic
year, no students will be allowed to
park on campus.
December 2001
6