New parking plan has students “running up that hill”

Over 1,000 students on waitlist for commuter parking passes

ABIGAIL CAVIZO / NEWS EDITOR / THE USD VISTA

While beginning the 2022-2023 school year, the USD community is re-acclimating to their new schedules, new classes and the San Diego culture. Amid these changes, parking services implemented a new parking plan that impacts faculty, staff and  students alike.

 Approximately 1,016 students are currently on a waiting list for commuter parking passes. Although the plan is meant to solve parking issues, it has some caveats. Some professors, for instance, struggle to find parking close to their appropriate building.

In 2017, a campus-wide committee initiated the original “USD Mobility and Parking Plan,” using feedback and data from previous years, along with a consultant. This plan was necessary in order to accommodate USD’s growing student population, as well as the addition of new structures, such as the Knauss Center  for Business Education. The committee intended to implement the plan in fall 2020, but due to COVID-19, the committee ultimately decided to carry out the parking plan in phases. 

Phase one took place during the 2020-2021 school year, specifically mapping out where students were allowed to park. Phase two began during the 2021-2022 school year. This change was that first-year students are no longer allowed to bring their vehicle on campus, unless they apply for an exception due to a medical disability or off-campus employment. The most notable change was the third phase, which went into action on July 1.

Instead of faculty and staff having the option to purchase their own individual, reserved parking spot, they may now purchase a “proximity” pass, meaning they can park anywhere they want within that specific lot. The “proximity” permits are for full-time faculty and staff in the lots closest to the buildings, available for $880. The “faculty/staff” permits include lots that are primarily in the main structure, available for $425. The “commuter” and “residential” permits are available for $375. “West Parking” permits are available for $225. Lastly, the “perimeter” spots are available for $125.

The only permits still available for purchase are the West Parking and perimeter lots. This information can also be found on the main USD website in the “Office of Parking Services” tab, under a document titled, “Parking Rules and Regulations.”

Dr. Julia Schafer, a professor in the Chemistry Department, commutes from Chula Vista. She used to pay a flat rate of approximately $380 for a spot with the yellow faculty/staff label, but she now pays for a proximity spot under Kroc Institute of Peace and Justice (KIPJ). 

“I know I just spent a lot of money for parking at my work [close to Shiley], but the convenience of coming or going is nice,” Dr. Schafer said. “My colleague is super frustrated, because she’s in the West Structure which is all the way at the bottom of the hill, but she still paid the $425, which is much more than our old faculty-staff parking rate.”

Mike Dils, Director of University Mobility and Scheduling, explained that the increased pricing is because –in previous years– it was unfair for some to only have the leftover spots in the West Structure when people would pay a flat rate. With the new parking plan, the pricing is according to the closeness of the buildings, meant to reduce the time people spend looking for an available parking space. 

For those who are on the  waiting list for a spot, Dils recommends utilizing the new tram service schedules to get around campus. 

“Part of the reason why we increased tram services to five in the morning was to better accommodate our grounds crew, custodial staff, business engineers and others who start [work] at five,” Dils said. “Currently in ‘proximity,’ some of the lots have waitlists, so we’re trying to balance the supply and demand of these waitlists.”

USD senior Jayden De Armas makes an hour-long commute from North County to campus, but she does not pay for a spot, because USD ran out of commuter spots so quickly.

“I park across the street at Goshen [down the hill from USD], and it’s honestly as good as it gets,” De Armas said. “Even if I did get a West Lot spot, the only ones left are down in the gravel lot, which is essentially the same distance as across the street, so with that and possible parking citations, I don’t think it’s worth it.”

Dils explained that although they have not changed the citation fees, parking services are giving the USD community members grace during the beginning of the school year, to acclimate to the new parking plan. 

“We’re giving a lot of warnings to try to encourage people to park in the right places,” Dils said. “At the moment, it’s hard to get that data [whether or not the new parking plan increased parking citations] because we’re not citing as we normally would, but once everyone gets settled, we’ll be able to pull that data.”

The parking services’ silver Prius cars are used for not only citations, but they also collect data on how many cars are parked in each lot. This data is then used to see how fast Parking Services can reduce its waitlist of those who want spots. 

“The goal was so people wouldn’t circle so much around the Mesa [main campus area where many of the classrooms, administrative offices, dining and student services are located] and they could go where they’re going to park,” Dils said. “It’s all about the data, so we’re happy it’s coming in and that the West Structure is better utilized.”

Additionally, Dils spoke about how parking services are working through the waitlist weekly.

“Parking is currently through the waitlist, and we’ve moved approximately 400 students off of it since the beginning [of the school year],” Dils said. “People have purchased permits and are not always parking at the times that they’ve purchased them, so we’re trying to make sure that, even though we have a lot of permits, we look at the lot and work to balance that.”

It is too early in the year for the data to show if this year’s parking plan is more efficient than previous years, but the waitlist is addressed every week. For those who are still on the waitlist for a commuter spot, using the new Bird bikes provided on campus is a possible option. Parking services are also working on an updated tracking system for the new routes and times so that the tram system can also be better utilized for those without parking spots.

It’s worth noting that, in total, two lots were converted for more physically open spaces to be available in the main campus area. Parking services recommended that, if students are emailed about an opening, respond fast, as there are 1,000 people in line for the desired commuter spaces.