Students, staff and faculty at The University of Idaho received an email from the Parking and Transportation Services March 18 regarding 10 sizable changes purposed toward parking lot distinctions, traffic flow, alternative transportation and price increases for next year.
The full list of changes can be located on uidaho.edu under the heading “Future Plans.”
The changes are in accordance with the department’s strategic plan, focused on becoming “a campus where a personally owned vehicle is not required to meet commuter and campus resident mobility needs,” according to the email.
“The changes align with all of our plans devolved last year after we reached out to customers, and got more feedback on priorities for parking and transportation on campus, and the development of our strategic plan,” said Rebecca Couch, director of Parking and Transportation Services.
Because every change on the list may impact students in different ways, the details for each change will be listed in the order provided by the email and not by order of importance.
The first change listed in the email is the implementation of and partnership with Gotcha Mobility Bike, a bike-share company contracted with UI and the City of Moscow to bring 50 pedal-assisted bicycles, or e-bikes, to the community for public use. Any UI affiliate will receive 30 minutes of free ride time, according to the email.
The second change is the paving of Lot 35, north of the Student Health Center, and converting it from a Gold permit lot to an hourly-pay lot.
Robert Mitchell, an information specialist at Parking and Transportation, said Lot 35 needs to be paved and converted to an hourly-pay lot due to a distinct lack of visitors and temporary parking near the core of campus.
The third change converts Meter Lot 53 — the meters in front of the Life Sciences building on University Avenue — to parking spaces that require a permit for walkway access parking. They will no longer be available to the general public. This change will relocate the walkway entrance from University Avenue at Pine Street one block east, to University Avenue at Ash Street. The fourth change is to reverse the direction of traffic on both one-way streets near the core of campus, University Avenue and Idaho Avenue — and a small section of Elm Street — to ultimately create a more efficient flow of traffic. This change eliminates all parking on Ash Street, converts parking on both one-ways streets from purple to gold to eliminate overnight parking and enhance maintenance services like snow removal.
“A walkway isn’t a walkway if you’re constantly trying to dodge vehicles,” Mitchell said. “So, not only are we trying to eliminate the amount of drop-off and pick-up by reversing the directions of the streets and adding the drop-off zone on Ash Street, but we’re also working with employees who frequent the walkway to know that vehicles should only be there when it’s absolutely vital.”
There will be plenty of signs and reminders of traffic changes at the appropriate time, according to Couch.
“We will be putting up a lot of extreme but temporary signage that flashes and shouts ‘traffic revisions ahead,’” Couch said. “There are standards for traffic revision the city upholds.”
The fifth change is converting Orange Lot 6 — between College Avenue and Narrow Street — to a Purple permit lot due to low usage under the orange distinction.
For the sixth change, free and unregulated parking on Railroad Street and College Ave will be converted to Red permit parking spaces for easier accessibility, temporary parking and maintenance.
The seventh change converts Blue Lot 60, the parking lot used by Parking and Transportation Services, to a Red lot.
The eighth change re-opens the WWAMI Medical Educational Program parking lot after the building’s renovation. The parking lot will also be converted from Blue to Red.
The ninth change will eliminate the free two-and-a-half hour parking time at the Recreational Center, and convert it to an hourly-pay lot.
“There are two issues with the Rec Center,” Couch said. “The demand, but also a lot of parkers who use the Rec Center parking don’t actually use the facility. So, they’re taking advantage of the free parking on campus while people who want to work out cannot.”
The tenth change is permit price increases for every color of parking pass available. This change will continue for years to come, as annual price increases are already planned up to year 2024.
Couch said increasing permit prices is unavoidable, and that raising prices provides incentive for students to rethink bringing their vehicles to school. Couch also said the additional funds would be invested into further street maintenance and advancements in alternative transportation.
“Avoiding price increases this year, as we have been planning, won’t help us achieve our goals,” Couch said. “If we don’t continue our plans to increase the prices, we’re not doing anything to encourage making a different choice about bringing their vehicles.”
Amy Blau, a third-year elementary education student at UI, said having her car on campus is a must, especially for her near eight-hour commute home to the very small town of Declo, Idaho.
“I’d say it’s a necessity,” Blau said. “Unless I take the holiday break bus, but that’s really competitive to get on to. Other than that, my parents would have to drive up, but that really isn’t an option for me either.”
Blau said although using price increases to incentivize alternatives may seem like a good idea, she said it will only serve to add more financial weight on students.
“I feel like it’s an idea, but when it comes down to it, it won’t make much of a difference,” Blau said. “Because a lot of students are like me, and feel it’s a necessity. I park in Purple Economy because it’s the cheapest option I can, but have the furthest commute. If they need to park, they will pay the fees even if it’s a huge burden.”
Andrew Ward can be reached at [email protected]