This summer Calvin announced across-the-board price increases for on-campus parking permits; how are the changes holding up, and how are students feeling about it?
In a July 14 email, Executive Vice President for Student Experience and Strategy Sarah Visser announced that permits would increase in price to $250, with students having the option to purchase one of a limited number of Lot 8 permits, priced at $325. All permits had been priced at $220 from 2022 until this fall.
The move to limit the number of Lot 8 parking passes and offer them at a higher price was due to overcrowding, where there was “a steady increase in the number of students registering vehicles for campus use, while the number of residential spaces has remained fixed,” explained Visser.
In past years, overcrowding was a source of stress among students, who, expecting to park in Lot 8, were forced into overflow parking in Lot 13. Sophomore Vivian King said that last year she was often unable to find parking in Lot 8 on Saturday and Sunday nights, which was “frustrating because it would force me and other students to walk across the bridge late at night to get to our dorms.”
This year, students in the dorms who did not purchase a Lot 8 pass will only be able to park in Lots 13 and 16, located across the East Beltline.
According to Visser, “in the first weeks of this fall semester, Lot 8 has consistently had a few open spaces during the day — a notable improvement compared to prior years.”
King noted that many of her friends were unable to afford a Lot 8 parking pass this semester and have to either forgo having a car on campus or park in a much less convenient lot, which “makes transportation much harder and creates many more unsafe trips across campus at night.”
After opening for sale on Aug. 10, Lot 8 permits did not sell out until Sept. 5, according to Campus Safety, mentioning it was “slower than expected” as students were possibly discouraged by the higher prices, but may also have just needed time to adjust to the new system.
According to Visser, “permits will be capped based on the number of spaces. Once full, a waitlist will be maintained.” According to Campus Safety, the waitlist started at 14, and has reduced down to 10 as of last week when more spots were made available to those waiting.
Chimes spoke to juniors Anya Hopek and Leah Schouten, housemates living off-campus this year. They both expressed frustration that the increase in price included off-campus students. “You’d think it would cost less to park as a commuter student because there is no option for us to park overnight,” commented Hopek. “If I’m paying the same amount as people who are parking overnight, why don’t I have that option?” added Schouten.
They also remarked how on days where sporting events are held on campus, lots normally reserved for off-campus students are repurposed as visitor parking. “Our lots are full on gamedays. I wasn’t even going to the game, but I couldn’t find a place to park because my lot was reserved for visitors,” said Hopek.
“The main thing we want is just more clarity. Make it make sense,” said Hopek. The price change “came as a shock because we as commuters have no choice whether to purchase a permit or not,” added Schouten. “If anything, increase prices just for on-campus students who don’t need a car to get here everyday.”
“Additional funds acquired from parking passes are being used to support the escalating costs” associated with the parking lots, according to Visser. However, “Campus Safety operates with a fixed budget,” which means that “revenue from parking passes and ticketing does not directly increase or expand their operating funds.”
Previous Chimes reporting in 2024, showed how Calvin’s parking permits compared to those of other local universities. Chimes has assembled an updated graph to help show the comparison with updated pricing for this year. The graph shows that despite price increases, Calvin’s parking permits remain on par with other universities.
