NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Due to lack of adequate space,
stack parking lots such as the one shown here in Lot 8 are becoming
more prevalent on campus. An additional lot under the IM field is
expected to open Spring 2001.
By Laura Rico
Daily Bruin Contributor
UCLA is not immune to the traffic woes that plague the rest of
Los Angeles, as its commuters rapidly exceed the number of parking
spaces available on campus.
Until the university provides enough parking spaces to
accommodate all students, staff and faculty, stacked parking and
public transportation may be the only alternatives for these
commuters.
“Our goal is to balance the inventory of parking spaces
available to the increasing demand for parking permits,” said
Parking Services Director Mark Stocki.
“Parking Services promotes realistic alternatives, such as
vanpools, discount parking permits for carpools and public
transportation in order to lessen the demand for parking
permits,” he continued.
To compensate for the lack of parking spaces, the university
utilizes stacked parking in Lots 4, 8 and the Janss structure.
While additional parking spaces are welcomed by many, stacked
parking poses an inconvenience for some.
“It can take a lot of time to go retrieve your car, check
to see if it is blocked and than go inform the attendant,”
said Ruben Pena, Jr., a third-year biochemistry student.
“Sometimes I have to go back and copy the number of the
car that is blocking me.Because of this I was almost late to work a
few times,” he said.
Despite such annoyances, parking services has been able to sell
about 1,000 more permits to students by using stacked parking.
In addition to stacked parking, the university has tried to make
use of its land space by constructing underground lots.
“Aside from going underground there is really no land
available on campus on which to erect new lots,” Stocki
said.
The demolition of Lot 14 in summer 1999 resulted in a loss of
1,400 parking spaces to accommodate the future Ronald Reagan
Medical Center. UCLA prepared for this by constructing a $33
million lot beneath the soccer field and Janss steps in May 1999,
which created 1,200 spaces.
An additional 2,000 spaces will be available upon completion of
a lot beneath the intramural field in Spring 2001.
Underground parking lot projects are more expensive because they
require ground excavations, stronger walls, a ventilation system
and a waterproofed structure, Stocki said.
“UCLA is really concerned with aesthetics, so it has to be
done nicely,” he said.
Aesthetics are not a major concern for students who apply for
permits, however. Many are denied spaces because they live too
close to campus. Others are assigned to lots further away from the
center of campus.
Having to assign specific lots to students because of the lack
of spaces frustrated Yumi Chapman, a ’00 alumnus.
“Even as a senior I was unable to get parking because
parking services said I lived too close to campus,” Chapman
said. “At that point I just started to pay five bucks to park
at Circuit City and Maloney’s.”
Students living in Westwood, for example, are rarely able to get
a parking space on campus.
University officials are working to find long-term solutions to
the lack of parking spaces and to offer alternatives for commuting
to campus.
The Transportation and Systems Demand Management plan advocates
carpooling, bicycling and public transportation. Developed in May
1987, the plan tries to balance the number of available parking
spaces with demand for spaces and offers commuting options. The
plan’s objective includes reducing Westwood traffic by 25
percent by 2007.
According to Stocki, the program, funded by parking and citation
fees, has reduced traffic by 16 to 17 percent so far. Vanpools, an
important component of the program, receive a 50 to 70 percent
subsidy from the university.
To further alleviate traffic congestion around Westwood, UCLA
Transportation Services and the Santa Monica bus system are
negotiating a one-year Bruincard Bus Pass Pilot program.
This would allow students to swipe their Bruin cards upon
boarding the Big Blue Bus for rides to and from campus. While the
rides would not be free, Stocki said the university hopes to secure
a 10-cent-per-ride discount from the Santa Monica bus line for the
5,000 UCLA students who use the bus system, Stocki said. The
program is expected to cost $1 million the first year.
For every million dollars UCLA invests in the Pilot program, $3
will be added to parking permit fees to fund the program, Stocki
said.
For the program to continue beyond one year, the university must
raise student registration fees, which would require a referendum
vote.
Technical difficulties experienced by the Santa Monica bus line
delayed the program, but parking services officials said the
project is “very much alive” and a pilot program is
slated to begin this year.
Shion Sakiyama, a second-year business economics student, said
she would take advantage of the program should it be
implemented.
“My sister went to UCSD, where they have the same kind of
system, and she says it was really convenient to just show your
card and get a ride to campus,” she said.