Carpoolers that live within one mile must walk, bike or find another parking spot
By Jonathan Hiser
As of last fall, a slight rewording in Public Safety's parking regulations now prohibits carpool permits to student, staff and faculty that live within a one-mile radius of campus.
According to Steve Watson, assistant director of Public Safety, the intent is to prevent people that lived two blocks from campus from driving to campus.
"For those who live so close to UP, we felt that it was abuse and misuse of parking spaces," Watson said.
To promote and encourage carpooling, two or more members of the university community may obtain, free of charge, a carpool permit that allows them to park in special areas set aside for carpool parking only.
Students living within the carpool-restricted area of campus must now purchase a yearly "G" permit for $100. Faculty and staff do not have to pay for either carpool or general parking permits.
By requiring students within one mile to pay for a general parking permit, the restriction is intended to encourage alternative forms of transportation.
Public Safety issued 52 carpooling permits to UP members at the start of fall; 44 of those permits were issued to students. The number represents a fraction of the 1,200 total permits issued by Public Safety.
Watson said he never heard of any complaints from students, staff or faculty in response to the restriction.
The current restriction is in line with carpooling policies at other universities, including the University of Oregon and the University of Washington.
"Carpooling permits were never intended to be used by people who lived within walking distance of the university," Watson said. "We're just saying that if you're within walking distance of the university, you're not going to get a carpool permit."
Registrar Technical Assistant Christy Dunn said nearby parking is important to her, noting that she and her coworkers still struggle to find parking spaces. Including Dunn, four of the six registrar workers carpool from Vancouver.
Due to construction work on the engineering building, 150 parking stalls have been removed.
"Carpooling has its benefits, but even with it, it's hard to find close parking spaces," Dunn said.
Public Safety Telecom Coordinator Linda Koppes said UP encourages other forms of transportation including TriMet bus passes for students and staff.
