OUR VIEW: We’d pay more for parking permits

Just when we thought parking was a dead issue, it roars back to life.

With the announcement that the new recital hall would destroy 140 parking stalls west of the Fine Arts Center, speculation and discussion is beginning about where to park faculty vehicles.

One of the options presented to the Associated Students of Utah State University Executive Council Tuesday was to have faculty park in the Premium-B parking lot by the Taggart Student Center and require students to park in other B-lots around campus or at Romney Stadium.

Can we re-think this?

Students love the Premium-B lot; visitors love that lot; taking it away could only cause more problems. It is the most heavily utilized parking lot on campus; the only bad thing about it is the long wait for a stall.

We said it last semester and we’ll say it again: The time has come to charge students more to park in the Premium-B lot. Whether that means selling a separate permit to allow students to park there for free for two hours or just raising the price of the B permit, the law of supply and demand needs to take effect here.

Thousands of students buy B permits each year for $35. That price should closer to $75. There is a misconception that amid years of raised tuition prices and fees, students shouldn’t have to pay more for parking.

Cry us a river. Students who really want to park close to campus are willing to pay more. Parking is a luxury, not a right – we should be charged an appropriate premium for what we use.

Parking department, don’t take our parking and go ahead and make us pay more for what we already have. It’s the only option that makes sense.