Sierra Club welcomes new parking permits
The Southern Arizona chapter of the Sierra Club is supporting the city's decision to sell permits for parking on campus streets, saying it will encourage alternative transportation.
University of Arizona officials say they also want less campus traffic, but complain that the city's strategy conflicts with their plan to eliminate parking at the heart of campus.
"There's no excuse for people driving cars to campus, because the automobile is a lethal machine," said Bill Moeller, transportation chairman for the Rincon Group, a division of the Sierra Club environmental organization. "I don't think anybody should be driving anyway."
Starting Feb. 1, the city will sell permits for 608 previously free curbside parking spots that will cost between $300 and $800, depending upon their proximity to central campus and the option of football and basketball game parking.
Students upset over the loss of free campus parking have a "selfish attitude," Moeller said.
The UA Area Circulation Study was jointly conducted by the university, the city of Tucson and the Pima Association of Governments in 1996. The study looked at reducing campus-area traffic and encouraging alternative transportation.
It recommended replacing central-campus parking with perimeter garages that would provide a total of about 12,000 spaces. The UA currently has about 9,000 campus spaces.
The Associated Students sent a letter to Mayor George Miller last week requesting a public hearing on the new program. Neither Miller nor the City Council have officially responded to that request.
Michael Lafleur can be reached via e-mail at Michael.Lafleur@wildcat.arizona.edu.
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