KSU’s Department of Parking and Transportation introduced a selection-based parking system that takes effect in Fall 2012 semester, but requires immediate student action.
The new program requires students to select from one of nine parking areas that each have a predetermined number of permits available. Students can select an area immediately after registering for Fall 2012 semester online.
Students need to log into Owl Express, click on “Parking and Vehicle Information,” then “Parking Election View/Update Page,” to select the semester and parking area. If the student’s selected area is accepted, and confirmation message will appear.
Once students have their assigned area accepted, they must go to Card Services between Sept. 10 and Oct. 12 to get their new hangtag. Students who choose to opt out do not need to do this.
According to an e-mail sent to students from administration on behalf of the Department of Parking and Transportation, if students do not select a parking area they will automatically be charged the full $83 permit fee and will then need to go to Card Services to either select a parking area or opt out.
Students who will not bring a car to campus can opt out but will still be required to pay a $60 infrastructure fee, which is associated with the parking fees. These students can still park on campus on weekends and during “open parking” days.
The nine parking areas are grouped based on location. For example, the West Parking area includes the west deck, west lot, church lot and lot A.
Of the nine areas, five are on campus. The on campus area permits cost $83 each semester.
New student parking options include an apartment shuttle route and three new park-and-ride lots. The Town Point parking area (a park-and-ride option) will be $40 per semester, while all other park-and-ride areas and the apartment shuttle will cost $20 per semester.
Senior theater major Kristen Smith said she was glad KSU was trying to fix the parking issues but that permit prices were too high.
“Once we manage to get a rhythm going… it will make it a lot easier, but the price is so exorbitantly huge that it’s just ridiculous to assume college students will be able to actually afford to be where they need to be,” Smith said. “I think defining it by major and where you spend most of your time should be the primary thing to focus on.”
Junior theater student Shannon Kennedy explained how, many days, she has to park on the other side of campus from her classes, a frustration many KSU students have experienced.
“I think it’s not the best idea because, for us in particular, and I’m sure there’s other people that have slightly different situations, but there are times where there’s nowhere to park close [to class],” Kennedy said. “That’s my main concern, if I did park and take the shuttle over, is there somewhere I can park at night and not be stranded?”
According to the KSU Parking and Transportation, shuttles will operate Monday-Friday between 6:30 a.m. and 11 p.m beginning Fall 2012.
For more information or to see a complete breakdown of the new areas and fees, visit KSU’s Department of Parking and Transportation website at https://web.kennesaw.edu/auxiliaryservices/parking.
How do we know where the Apartment Shuttle and Northside shuttles go? Not seeing it in on their website either. That would probably be instrumental in a person’s decision to pay for that service.
Are you fucking kidding me? A $60 infrastructure fee is absolute horse shit. Just because I don’t feel like picking a parking spot, which I shouldn’t have to because I park illegally at Wendy ‘s and that’s my god given right as an American. Who came up with this fee do I can go scream at then?
Hank-
Here is a link to what I could find about the Apartment and Northside shuttles: https://web.kennesaw.edu/auxiliaryservices/content/parking-area-descriptions
Area 6 – Northside Parking
The Northside Parking area is a park and ride lot located north of campus off of Wade Green Road, and is serviced by the shuttle’s North Route. Students parking in this lot would ride the KSU B.O.B. North Route shuttle bus to campus. There are two centrally located shuttle stops on campus: one on the south end of the Student Center just outside the Student Rec and Wellness Center, and one on the north end of the Student Center just outside The Commons and Burruss Building.
Area 9 – Apartment Shuttle
The Apartment Shuttle parking option is for students who live in private apartment complexes in the local vicinity around KSU. Students living in these complexes would save significant money by choosing this option as their parking selection. Students choosing this option would pay a low semester permit fee and keep their vehicles parked at their apartment complex and take the KSU B.O.B. shuttle bus to campus.
The shuttle will make stops at the U-Club on Frey and The Lofts of Kennesaw communities. Additional area apartment complexes are being confirmed for shuttle stops. As these communities come on-line as part of the Apartment Shuttle parking option, updates will be provided via the parking website and on KSU’s Where’s B.O.B.? shuttle tracker powered by TransLoc.
Ben-
I don’t think the $60 fee is new, just continued with the new parking fees on top of it. Here’s the FAQ page for Parking and Transportation- though there aren’t many more details about the fees: https://web.kennesaw.edu/auxiliaryservices/faq/parkingtransportation
My main concern with this system, is the chance of error. Imagine a student with the hangtag for the west deck ( lot 1 i believe). What if the lot is full (for one reason or another), and they are forced to either, park somewhere NOT in their area or miss class ( due to time for parking off campus, or waiting for a spot in assigned area to open up). I am sure the response is that would not happen due to the number of allowed permits per lot being PERFECT. However, being a student thinking critically, humans aren’t always, “perfect”. What kind of punishment would come from this situation, or one similar?