About 2,700 students are still on the waiting list to obtain a Zone 1 lot parking permit, Parking and Transportation Services officials said. That number is expected to decrease by tomorrow as unclaimed passes will be redistributed, said Patrick Cass, director of UA Parking and Transportation Services.
This year’s waiting list is slightly larger than last year’s, said David Heineking, associate director of Parking and Transportation Services.
Stuck in the waiting list, some students said they are parking in lots or garages on campus as they wait for Zone 1 passes to become available.
“”All four years (that I’ve been at the UA) I’ve been on the waiting list,”” said Kelvin Lewis, a history senior. For now, Lewis is using metered parking or has his wife drop him off on campus.
Rebecca Tennant, a pre-nursing freshman, has been parking in the lots south of East Sixth Street, which are farther away from her classes and Coronado Residence Hall, 822 E. Fifth St., where she lives.
“”It’s frustrating,”” she said.
Getting a Zone 1 permit is only half the battle, however, and finding open spots in the lots can be difficult.
Sari Jacobson, an undeclared freshman, is also currently in South of Sixth Street lots, but is on the waiting list to receive a Zone 1 permit.
After hearing about her friends’ struggles to find open spots, even with their Zone 1 permits, Jacobson said that she is now unsure if she would purchase a pass if offered one.
Zone 1 passes are not the only permits in demand. South of Sixth Street parking passes have 822 people on the wait list, followed by Sixth Street Parking Garage with 554; Tyndall Avenue Parking Garage with 533; Park Avenue Parking Garage with 456; Highland Avenue Garage with 357; Cherry Street Parking Garage with 350 and Main Gate Parking Garage with 261, Heineking said.
In December, a lot adjacent to the Student Recreation Center, 1400 E. Sixth St., will be closed due to the expansion plans, said Julienne Moore, Campus Recreation director. The lot is the largest south of Sixth Street, Heineking said, which may make parking more difficult.
Parking and Transportation Services is refocusing on alternative means of transportation to help alleviate the on-campus parking and traffic crunch. This includes more promotion of discounted bus passes, carpooling bicycling and shuttle services like CatTran that are available to students and staff, Heineking said.
Thousands of students are on waiting lists for parking garage spaces. Here’s how it breaks down:
South of Sixth Street: 822
Sixth Street Garage: 554
Tyndall Avenue Garage: 533
Park Avenue Garage: 456
Highland Avenue Garage: 357
Cherry Street Garage: 350
Main Gate Garage: 261
– Statistics courtesy of UA Parking and Transportation
