By Jonathan Hiser
Campus construction, a tightened budget and increased enrollment have all contributed to a restriction of on-campus parking this semester.
All major construction projects on campus, including the yet-started bell tower and Commons addition, should be completed by the start of fall 2009, according to Paul Luty, director of Facilities Planning and Construction.
Even without the congestion from construction projects, UP will still face an unprecedented parking crunch from the influx of some additional 290 incoming students into the new Fields and Schoenfeldt halls, according to Mike Walsh, director of Residence Life.
Walsh said he doesn't expect the parking situation to get any better or worse than it already is at the moment.
According to UP enrollment, 3,537 students are attending UP this fall. Assistant Director of Public Safety Steve Watson said there are 1,719 parking spaces in total, which accounts for spots taken up by construction projects. Public Safety does not keep a running tally of assigned parking permits.
According to James Kuffner, assistant vice president of Human Resources and Administration, UP has, and will, continue to have sufficient on-campus parking spaces, although students, faculty and staff may have to search harder to find them. The city of Portland requires UP to balance parking spaces with student enrollment.
Vice President for Financial Affairs Denis Ransmeier said completion of Shiley Hall (formerly the Engineering Hall) and the new residence halls will bring back on line a significant number of spaces now taken up by construction crews and construction circulation routes.
Ransmeier said that with 300 more students living on campus who are now commuting to campus, the need for spaces should actually decline a little next year.
At the moment, UP has no imminent plans to construct new parking facilities.
In the longer term, should UP acquire the Triangle Park property directly below the Bluff, Ransmeier said there are plans to build a multi-storied parking garage into the hillside that will add spaces and provide handicap access from the top of the bluff to the lower area. Until then, future-limitations on dorm construction and enrollment will likely keep a parking shortage in check.
In the short term, Luty said there are plans in place should on-campus parking fail to meet demand. The cheapest and fastest solution would be to gravel the field behind Public Safety, but Luty said he wants to avoid "paving paradise" at all costs, adding that it would likely be an unpopular option.
Luty said he would rather prefer to install additional bike racks to meet the growing student demand.
Walsh said that the limitation of on-campus parking is, in some ways, keeping with a sustainable campus, noting that the situation might encourage students to bike rather than drive.
