City parking restrictions near campus may change
Leah L. Culler, News Editor
Logan City parking restrictions east and west of campus are being revisited, while on-campus parking policies will likely not see much change.
The city restrictions, which require a permit to park on included streets, were originated to maintain the “residential flavor of neighborhoods” in these areas, said City of Logan Administrative Services Director Laurie Tanner.
Property owners wanted to be able to park in front of their residences, but an influx of traffic east and west of campus was crowding streets, said Logan City Police Chief Rich Hendricks. This is why the restriction on parking in these areas was developed, he said.
Tanner said the city planned to evaluate the policy after a full semester, and that’s exactly what city officials are now doing. The issue will be discussed at a city council work session tonight, as well as possible future meetings.
Hendricks said the restrictions have worked well on the east side of the Utah State University campus, but many complaints have been made about restrictions on the west side.
“(The west side) is more densely populated,” he said. “There are more rental and tenant properties.”
Hendricks said there is more competition for parking places on the city streets on the west side.
At tonight’s meeting, he said he will share input with city officials from complaints he has received at neighborhood meetings and give suggestions and options for the situation.
Hendricks said he feels the police department needs to come up with a long-term solution to the parking problem.
“We’re band-aiding,” he said. “We’re treating the symptoms and not the disease. The long-term solution is to write ordinances that limit parking.”
Homes that have been converted to apartments don’t have enough parking spots for those living there, Hendricks said. This forces cars into the street. Commuter traffic adds to the problem.
“It can really impact quality of life on the west side,” he said. “My goal is to pursue long-term solutions. That would require us to include parking spaces per structure.”
If a building only has parking spaces for eight vehicles, it shouldn’t rent to 10 vehicles, he said.
“The police can’t write that kind of ordinance,” he said. “All I can do is try to have an impact.”
Tanner said the city recognizes the restrictions don’t work everywhere.
“We may look at specific streets,” she said. “For some it might work, others it might not.”
While the city is thinking of making changes to its new parking policies, changes USU made this year have “gone over very well,” said Director of Parking and Transportation Services Lisa Leishman.
The new economy parking pass that allows students to park in outlying areas of campus has received overwhelming support, she said. More than 2,300 students have purchased the $10 pass.
But Leishman said the biggest surprise has been the number of students who have purchased B permits this year. This pass allows parking in more central areas of campus. The $35 pass has been purchased by 2,800 students, compared to 1,700 last year.
Leishman attributes the increase to students deciding to upgrade to the B permit when they learned they would have to pay a $10 fee anyway.
Not many changes in the parking policies on campus are anticipated for next year, she said, but Parking Services is looking at different ways of operating. Walker Parking Consultants, based in Denver, Colo., is currently creating a master plan.
The company has been visiting campus and doing counts of current parking, as well as researching parking situations at other universities. They will present ideas for structure locations, a timeline and funding options to Parking Services in February, Leishman said.