Parking permit rate hikes to average 5 percent

The cost of annual permits for on- campus parking will go up an average of 5 percent for the 2001-02 academic year, or between 29 cents and 77 cents per week, according to Transportation Services Director Lori Kay.

Notices regarding parking changes, along with applications, were mailed to current permit holders April 27. The new rates, approved by the Transportation Committee, range from $220 for Lot 60 to $980 for Area 23 under Van Hise Hall.

In an effort to curb the increasing number of handicapped parking abuses on campus, the committee voted to double the fine for illegally parking in a marked “Handicapped” stall or access aisle. It will go up from $100 to $200.

“We know there has been increasing abuse of handicapped parking by students and staff since handicapped permits no longer display gender or birth date, which makes them harder to verify,” says Kay.

“It’s happening all over, but on this geographically challenging campus, the problem is particularly acute. We would prefer that people just stop and think about the implication of parking illegally in a handicapped space and what that does to someone who really needs it.”

Double permit fines, handed out when two vehicles with the same permits are parked on campus at the same time, will increase from $50 to $75.

Kay says construction projects should have a lesser impact on parking than in recent years, but the Learning Center project on the east portion of Lot 63 and the Camp Randall Stadium addition will force some changes.

The loss of stalls in Lot 63 east will be offset mostly by the expansion of Lot 79 to the lower level of the patient/visitor ramp at UW Hospital and Clinics. Kay says Clinical Sciences Center staff should not lose parking. The cost of Lot 79 parking will remain at a surface lot rate for one more year, then increase to a ramp rate.

The construction of the Camp Randall addition will affect Lot 19 first and eventually Lot 18, probably the following year. Lot 19 will be reduced from 150 to approximately 60 stalls. Additional parking is available in the Lot 17 parking ramp at a higher cost.

All current permit holders will receive a brief customer service improvement survey along with their annual parking notice. They are asked to complete and return it by May 11.

On the departmental front, permits have been revised significantly to three types: Department Universal (replacing the former “A” permit), Department Limited and Department Reserved. Fees also were revised. A letter explaining the new policies and rate structures was sent in March to all department officials.