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WHAT'S THE BUZZ: ON
PARKING
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As is always the case during the first
couple of weeks of the add/drop period (which ends tomorrow), parking
is at a premium on campus. This year has been particularly difficult due
to the fact that we
have approximately 350 more students enrolled than we did last year, many
of whom brought their cars with them.
Additionally, with the construction
of Beaujolais Village underway for our students, the dirt lot adjacent
to Lot F is not available for overflow parking, which we have used in
the past. These factors, along with the additional visitors at times on
campus due to some terrific Welcome Week activities (such as the Service
and Volunteer Fair and the Rohnert Park Community Fair) and other programs
have contributed to the difficult time our students, staff and faculty
have had in finding parking at the times they need it. Police Services
was much more flexible than normal in their oversight of campus parking
during the first full week of classes to offer what assistance they could.
The University is currently analyzing space on campus to use as temporary
lots until Lots L, M, N, and O open on the north side of campus. Some
final decisions about his should be made in the next few days.
Parking on Petaluma Hill Road and E. Cotati Avenue
There
has been various information circulating about the removal of parking
along Petaluma Hill Road and East Cotati Avenue. A series of reports and
studies showed that there was a clear, present and imminent danger of
a major accident on those roads since the frequency of their use and the
speed
of the drivers has significantly increased over the years. The land where
the cars were parked is part of the university. For the University not
to remedy a known dangerous situation would have been indefensible both
legally and morally and would have put the University in great jeopardy
as
contributory negligent.
President Arminana said: I knew the decision would be unpopular, but it
was the right thing to do for our students, faculty and staff.
New North Parking Lots
The new north parking lots (L, M, N, and O) just over Copeland Creek
will open mid to late October. They, along with the vehicle, pedestrian
bridges and the road from Rohnert Park Expressway (the new north entrance),
will be paved very soon and will be ready for use when the parking lots
open. Lots L, M,
N, and 0 will have 1,080 spaces. The distance from these lots to the main
campus is no farther than some of our existing lots. Once the Green Music
Center is built (approximately 2 years), the lots will be used mainly
in the evenings and on weekends when the Music Center has activities.
The main use of L, M, N, and O during the day will be for the campus community.
Alternative Transporation
The Alternative Transportation Committee
is chaired by Lt. George Ellington of Police Services. The group meets
bi-monthly during the academic year and explores ways to increase campus
participation in commuting to campus in ways other than by vehicle. Some
of the past attempts include free bus rides
for SSU students, faculty and staff (very few took advantage of the year-long
offer), designating a carpool row of 25 spaces in Lot D (only a handful
of cars parked there), and participation in Bike-to-Work day in May. The
Alternative Transportation Committee has purchased and installed additional
bike racks to encourage more people to ride to school or work, although
once the weather begins to deteriorate, fewer people tend to ride bikes
to campus.
The number of parking spaces on campus is as follows:
Non-Reserved: 2295 (plus 1,080 spaces to open mid-Oct. /L,M,N,O Lots)
= 3375
Reserved: 456
Disabled: 104
Visitor (includes time zoned): 129
Residential Housing: 977
TOTAL PARKING SPACES: 5115
The ratio of parking spaces to FTE is .61 which takes into account the
fact that turnover of students and faculty takes place several times per
day.
Residential Parking
When Beaujolais Village is completed (Phase
1 by Fall 2003 and Phase 2 by Fall 2004), 350 spaces are being built into
the project to accommodate the students who will live there (note: these
will not add to SSU’s student body to a great degree since we will
remain relatively the same size in regard to the number of bodies who
attend SSU. The new students in Beaujolais will replace those students
who normally attend school here but live off-campus).
For information, a schedule of the parking fees is below:
PARKING RATES EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2001
Students and Administrators II, III, and IV
Non-Reserved (semester) $94
Non-Reserved (summer) $63
Motorcycle (semester) $22
Motorcycle (summer) $15
Units 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 and Administrator I
(California State Employee Association [CSEA], Academic Professionals
of
California (counselors, etc.), State Employees Trades Council, Police)
Non-Reserved (semester) $63
Non-Reserved (summer) $42
Motorcycle (semester) $22
Motorcycle (summer) $15
Units 1 and 3
Physicians, Faculty [CFA]
Non-Reserved (semester) $54
Non-Reserved (summer) $36
Motorcycle (semester) $13.50
Motorcycle (summer) $9
Reserved Parking (all employees and students)
Reserved (semester) $262
Reserved (summer) $157
Reserved (evening only) $175
Daily permit $2.50
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