Source: http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com
Campus parking is a major cause of stress for most people who rely on the University to provide them with somewhere to keep their car. Concerns about distance, price and availability are commonly emphasized by students, but there are other issues for commuter students looking for an alternative to Park Lot.
For example, students that have already purchased a Park Lot pass, or any parking pass for that matter, cannot buy a day pass for Library Lot. This would be highly beneficial to commuters who occasionally need a closer spot than Park Lot. Without the ability to park in Library Lot, off-campus residents must rely on the metered parking that runs from the information booth, past the residential quad and up to Towers. Our research shows that there are 66 parking meters on campus, with minimal consistency with regards to time limit and price.
Many of the parking meters have a two-hour time limit, some have a three-hour limit and a rare few have an eight-hour limit. Furthermore, some of the meters are twice as expensive as others. On some of the meters a quarter will buy you 25 minutes, whereas on the other meters a quarter only buys 12.5 minutes. These price changes are totally random and do not seem to have any relationship to location or time limit. There are even several instances where two meters on the same post have different times and prices — one post has a three-hour limit with 25 minutes for 25 cents right next to one with only a two-hour limit that is twice as expensive. This kind of inconsistency makes it difficult to plan for trips to campus.
If there are meters with eight-hour limits, why not just have them for all the meters? Also, if the University thinks that a minute per penny is an acceptable price, why not make this the consistent price for all meters? Both consistent meters and access to Library Lot would prevent many of the problems encountered by visitors to UR with parking.
