“The university needs to add at least one more parking lot to its campus in order to accommodate ALL of its students,” said Andrea Lopez, English junior. “It is extremely unfair to charge students any amount when there are a limited number of parking spaces,” she added.
While TAMIU Police Department Chief Felipe Garza noted that at this time the university does not have plans to create more parking lots, he said there is an alternative: the university is offering East Faculty Parking Lot access cards to graduate students at $25 for the year (expiring August 31, 2007). Regular parking permits are currently offered for $15. As of September 22 the permits were extended undergraduate seniors and juniors.
“We opened to graduate students first, especially on the east side where we have about 100 slots opened up at any given time. Then seniors and juniors had taken them up, so, eventually, we’ll open those up to anyone who has the desire to park there,” Garza said.
According to Garza, there are plans to open gated parking to sophomores and freshmen if spaces remain available.
Gated parking in the East Faculty parking lot, which holds 129 parking spaces, will be available to students while the West Faculty parking lot, holding 144 parking spaces, will remain strictly for faculty and staff. The University will limit the amount of student gated parking spaces to 100 for now. If things work out, Garza says, they will open more.
Garza, however, is aware that this alternative is not as cost-effective to the student as it is to the university. “It’s a very costly endeavor (to build new parking space) especially to get them with concrete surfaces. People have suggested we get those grass parking lots or to get them asphalted, but those don’t last long.”
Garza and Vice President for Finance and Administration Jose Garcia have discussed gating all TAMIU parking spaces.
Garza also discussed plans to open more motorcycle parking spaces. Three motorcycle spaces will open in each of the following areas: Student Center North and South parking lots, West Student parking lot near the Western Hemispheric Trade Center, East Student lot near the Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center, and Physical Plant.