Dear Editor:

Whether you are a student, a member of faculty, part of the staff and administration or just a visitor at the University of Colorado you are probably aware that parking on the CU campus is costly and limited.  It does not help the parking problem that two new buildings, the Community Center and another dorm in Williams Village, are being built over parking lots.  And with recent budget cuts to the Parking and Transportation Services, more affordable parking appears even more difficult to come by.

While there are permits ranging from $110 – $170 available for semester use and day permits costing $7.25-day, $10.50-week, and $25.50-month, cheaper parking is not easy to find.  During the day parking is permit-only except in the Euclid Autopark lot which costs $1.75/hour but goes up to $3/hour after three hours.  There are meters around campus that are $1.50/hour until 5pm and free after 5pm but there is no free parking during business hours.  There is also the option of RTD Park and Ride lots where you can park your car and ride the bus to campus (see www.rtd-denver.com for locations).  But if you are close to campus, have not purchased a permit, and just need a place to park during the day time, there is no free parking and limited meter space.

There are several solutions to the parking issue.  The University of Colorado should consider funding the Parking and Transportation Services.  This could create more parking lots or allow for more metered parking to be installed around campus with the addition of turning some current permit-only parking lots into visitor parking. The use of buses and biking should also be encouraged to reduce the need for parking on campus, but for those times when driving is necessary there needs to be free or at least less expensive parking spaces available to the University of Colorado’s driving visitors.

Sincerely,

Erin Musso

Boulder

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