Mesa Legend - ARCHIVES - Vol. 39, Issue 8


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Volume 39, Issue 8
January 15, 2002

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Architects to review MCC plan to address parking
By Marci Kramer
Mesa Legend

The free parking that MCC students, faculty and staff have access to may soon be a thing of the past – the policy currently is under review by the Parking and Safety Committee.

MCC supplies more than 4,000 parking spaces – 3,377 for students, 604 for employees, 72 for visitors, 93 for disabled and one for police – to accommodate more than 24,000 students and 1,450 faculty and staff members.

Even though students and employees vastly outnumber the available parking spaces, the only time every space is occupied is for a couple days during the first week of fall classes, said Ron Etter, dean of administration.

Students often complain about the lack of parking located close to the campus and of the time required to walk from "the back 40," which is the southernmost portion of campus.

However, to travel from the farthest parking space to the edge of campus at MCC does not require a shuttle, such as is needed on the Arizona State University campus.

"I don’t feel the parking is an issue," said MCC student Courtney Kimball. "It’s just part of the college experience."

And while MCC students and employees are directed to register their vehicles with the college and to display a free parking permit, ASU students and personnel are required to pay for the privilege of parking on the ASU campus.

"Getting a parking pass is dumb," Kimball said, "since parking is free."

The purpose of the parking permit is to identify vehicles that belong on campus as well as give MCC public safety personnel a way to locate vehicle owners in the event of an emergency, said Johnice Wilkins, director of student leadership.

Some students choose not to register their vehicles as a strategy to utilize visitor parking, which offers prime parking locations.

However, the fine for failing to register a vehicle and display a parking permit is $30; all fines are doubled if not paid within 15 working days.

If a registered vehicle belonging to an employee or student is located in the visitor parking area, the fine is $5.

At ASU, students and employees pay from $50 a year to park east and north of Sun Devil Stadium to $129 a year to park at the Grady Gammage Auditorium or in any of five parking structures.

All parking decals are valid from Aug. 16, or the date of purchase, whichever is later, to Aug. 15 of the next year, and the university prorates parking fees as needed throughout the year.

Administrators at MCC are in the process of hiring architects to review the master plan for the college, which was designed in 1989, to determine how to address the parking issue. The choice between a parking structure versus additional surface parking is being considered, Etter said.