2008 Woodie Awards
Parking garage destiny not determined
By Jonathan Munson
Issue date: 10/5/07 Section: News
Originally published: 10/4/07 at 4:44 PM CSTLast update: 10/7/07 at 2:40 PM CST
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Click here to see the northeast elevation of the new parking garage.
It sounded simple.
Construction of the new parking garage has cost this campus about 700 parking spaces. Eighty percent of them were designated student parking spaces and the rest were for faculty and staff.
So when this college's Parking Committee met Sept. 28 to discuss how to divide garage parking between faculty and staff, Tim Rockey, dean of continuing education and workforce development and chair of the committee, explained that the easiest solution would have been an 80-20 split - faculty and staff parking on the fifth floor and students parking below.
However, this simple solution raised questions and concerns from the committee, and members realized quickly that they can't please everyone.
"How are you going to keep them from going up there?" asked Tara Daugherty, a facilities management employee. Although the building will be well-lit and lined with cameras, as Rockey explained, having security guards in place had not been discussed.
Jeff Hunt, theater and speech communications chair, suggested looking at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and how they handle their parking garage's traffic flow. But parking is divided into levels. Lots nearer to UTSA campus, as well as the parking garage, cost more to park in.
"Yeah, it's a moneymaker for them because these garages are expensive as we now know. So they're using it to generate revenue," Rockey said. It's a situation that President Robert Zeigler wants to avoid, he added.
"In other words, the parking pass, as we all know, really is a hunting license," Rockey said. "You're not guaranteed a spot."
A 50-50 division was suggested by Zane A. Plemmons, Student Government Association member, but a single level of the parking garage makes up 20 percent of the parking spaces. Splitting the garage in half between students and faculty would require the division of the third story.
It sounded simple.
Construction of the new parking garage has cost this campus about 700 parking spaces. Eighty percent of them were designated student parking spaces and the rest were for faculty and staff.
So when this college's Parking Committee met Sept. 28 to discuss how to divide garage parking between faculty and staff, Tim Rockey, dean of continuing education and workforce development and chair of the committee, explained that the easiest solution would have been an 80-20 split - faculty and staff parking on the fifth floor and students parking below.
However, this simple solution raised questions and concerns from the committee, and members realized quickly that they can't please everyone.
"How are you going to keep them from going up there?" asked Tara Daugherty, a facilities management employee. Although the building will be well-lit and lined with cameras, as Rockey explained, having security guards in place had not been discussed.
Jeff Hunt, theater and speech communications chair, suggested looking at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and how they handle their parking garage's traffic flow. But parking is divided into levels. Lots nearer to UTSA campus, as well as the parking garage, cost more to park in.
"Yeah, it's a moneymaker for them because these garages are expensive as we now know. So they're using it to generate revenue," Rockey said. It's a situation that President Robert Zeigler wants to avoid, he added.
"In other words, the parking pass, as we all know, really is a hunting license," Rockey said. "You're not guaranteed a spot."
A 50-50 division was suggested by Zane A. Plemmons, Student Government Association member, but a single level of the parking garage makes up 20 percent of the parking spaces. Splitting the garage in half between students and faculty would require the division of the third story.
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