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DAVID HARDEN/Arizona Daily Wildcat
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The Second Street parking garage is one of the many garages that fill up everyday with both permit and non-permit holders. Parking and Transportation Services is offering more permits for sale today.
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By Rebekah Jampole
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday September 5, 2002
With more than one permit released for each Zone 1 space, parking still a matter of timing, patience, luck
About 1,300 students, faculty and staff waitlisted for parking permits have their first shot at getting UA parking today, when Parking and Transportation Services employees begin offering permits to those on the waiting list.
Anyone who had been designated a permit, but had not picked it up by yesterday, lost it.
About 2,400 students will still be on the waiting list after today, said Andie Graessle, program coordinator for Parking and Transportation Services.
But parking on and around campus is pretty packed, with permit holders driving around, waiting for others to vacate their midday spots.
This semester, Parking and Transportation Services released 16,250 parking permits, although there are only 10,730 parking spaces on campus.
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"We want to utilize each lot for the entire day; otherwise there are empty lots, and people are not happy."
-Patrick Kass
director of Parking and Transportation Services
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"We have to do this in order to give everybody a chance to park," Graessle said.
The ratios of permits and spaces are consistent with previous years. Approximately 1.4 permits are released for every Zone 1 space, Graessle said.
The ratio is about the same for lot-specific and garage permits.
"We want to utilize each lot for the entire day; otherwise there are empty lots, and people are not happy," said Patrick Kass, director of Parking and Transportation Services.
The average student stays on campus for only three hours per day, Graessle said.
More parking meters are scheduled for removal east of the Main Library to make way for expansion of the Optical Sciences building.
Meters still left standing will be monitored more strictly, to ensure people with permits will get parking they paid for.
Cost for permits ranges from $185 for Zone 1 parking to $400 for garage parking ÷ a fee too costly for some students.
"I am not about to shell out $400 for the garage and the Zone 1 isn't guaranteed anymore, so it seems like a waste of money," said Matthew Knatz, a molecular and cellular biology junior.
Visitor parking is available in all garages, although a fee is charged.
"It's not too bad in the garage. At first it was, but not anymore. It's driving on campus to the garage that is really busy," said Tammy Swanson, a Spanish and flute performance freshman.
Some permits have been shifted because construction of the Sixth Street Parking garage is not completed.
Only 337 of the 1,250 spaces are currently usable, instead of the 750 initially planned to open.
The $18.5 million parking garage will include a greenhouse on the top level, an office for Parking and Transportation Services, a plaza, CatTran shuttle stops and SunTran bus stops. The garage will have parking spaces for 16,000 vehicles when it is completed early in spring 2003.
