UW-Parkside Parking: Why it costs what it costs

Editor's note: This is the first of three articles about parking at UW-Parkside. This installment deals with parking costs for the coming school year; the second article examines the services provided to UW-Parkside drivers; the third covers both safety and the methods drivers can use to save money on parking.

Permits to use the parking lots at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside go on sale Wednesday, Aug. 1. They can be purchased at the university police department in room 181 of Tallent Hall.

Faculty/staff annual permits for 2012-2013 will be $150, annual commuter student permits are $145, and residential student annual permits are $155; in each case, a $10 increase over last year. Reserved annual permits will be $300 and the university continues to offer a student permit for parking in the Tallent Hall lot with the cost this year at $100. A complete list of permits and fees is available on the university web site.

UW-Parkside Police Chief Jim Heller said no tuition funds are ever used for the lots. That means his department depends on parking permits sales to finance improvements, which in recent years have been substantial.

As Heller points out, "The new parking lots we built in the last several years, starting with the Student Center and most recently the Rita," cost $1.6 million and $2.8 million, respectively. In addition to better layouts and better lighting, Heller said, "We also gained additional parking spaces."

The new rates put UW-Parkside in the middle of the pack for parking costs in the UW System.

"There is no free parking [at any UW System campus],"said the Police Department's Pam LeClaire-Towle who surveyed the other four-year campuses around the state.

Costs elsewhere in the system range from a high of $277 for faculty/staff at UW-River Falls to $94 at Green Bay. And even being the lowest doesn't shield UWGB from hearing about parking costs.  

"Green Bay, when we talked to them, said they get complaints that [parking costs are] too high," LeClaire-Towle said.

A comparison of parking rates around the system is on the UW-Parkside web site.

Parking in a UW-Parkside lot has its advantages. We'll look at the services that comes free-of-charge to drivers who use the university lots Thursday.

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ABOUT THIS STORY:

Story Status: Archived
Publish date: 7/31/2012

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