The administration’s up to their usual shenanigans again! In a recent email to a select few faculty and students, Barbara Chernow, Vice President for Facilities and Services, announced new changes to parking on campus, effective August 18. These changes, misleadingly called “improvements,” are a slap to the face of both students and faculty.
Most notably among the changes are the shifting of nearly 300 commuter parking spots to metered or faculty spots. Did we mention that they are also planning on raising the prices of said metered lots? Well, they are. Furthermore, in another move that will make student parking even more infuriating on campus, the “improvements” include designating resident sections, under the vague, and laughingly absurd platitude of “reducing our carbon footprint.” What does this really mean? It means that all of you folks who live in Tabler and have a resident parking permit can no longer park in any of the closer resident lots on campus. You will now be restricted to only Tabler, and the same applies for every other residence hall.
We will include a transcript of the actual e-mail below so that you can see the actual meat and biscuits of these “improvements.” The transcript follows:
To All Faculty, Staff and Students:
In an effort to make parking more readily available for our students,
visitors, faculty and staff, we have changed the designation of
certain sections of surface parking lots on campus. Some of the
changes and improvements are:
* 192 metered parking spaces in the south section of the Stadium
parking lot. The north section of the Stadium parking lot will
remain Premium Parking (brown hangtag required) for commuter
students.
* 60 metered parking spaces in the south portion of the
Mendelsohn & H Quad parking lot, near the Wang Center, for
visitors. Mendelsohn & H Quad faculty and staff will have
access to parking spaces in the Administration Overflow
parking lot.
* 310 spaces in the Tabler Quad surface parking lot will become
available to Faculty and Staff.
* 24 spaces in the Stadium lot will become available to Faculty
and Staff.
* Parking on the east side of Lake Drive will be designated for
resident students who live in Roth Quad.
Stony Brook is committed to reduce its campus carbon footprint. To
encourage less vehicle use on campus and improve pedestrian safety,
students will be assigned parking hangtags that will allow parking in
specific parking zones in proximity to their residence hall or
apartment. Students will be allowed to park only in their assigned
zone. Apartment and resident parking zones have been assigned as
follows:
Zone Parking Lot Name & Location
R1 West Apartment Parking Lots
Kelly Resident Parking Lots
Roosevelt Resident Parking Lots
R2 Schomburg Apartment Parking Lots
R3 Tabler Resident Parking Lots
R4 Roth Resident Parking Lots
R5 Mendelsohn & H Quad Resident Parking Lots
R6 Chapin Apartment Parking Lots
To view these changes on a campus map please visit our website:
http://www.stonybrook.edu/parking/parkingmap
Vital maintenance of our parking lots and garages necessitates the
following updates in parking rates:
* The rate for parking meters will change from 25 cents for 15
minutes to 25 cents for 10 minutes.
* The visitor parking rate in Parking Garages will change
from $1.50 per hour and $7.50 per day to $2.75 per hour and
$13.75 per day.
* The cost for University Parking Garage validation stickers
will change from $3.50 to $4.50.
* Evening rates in the Administration Parking Garage will
change from $3.00 to $5.50.
* Fall 200 Surface Paring
* Hospital Parking Garage visitor 30 day pass will change
from $25 to $40.
If you have any questions about these changes, please contact James
O'Connor, Director of Transportation and Parking Operations, at
"Customer Feedback" page located at
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/Admin/asacomments.nsf/park.
These changes will be effective August 18, 2008.
Thank you.
In reality, these changes are, at worst, a bureaucratic money making scheme, and at best a major inconvenience to the people who make Stony Brook great, the students and faculty.
We don’t suppose we should wonder why these administrative money hogs instate these changes during the summer. These sort of sneaky moves, while the overwhelming majority of students aren’t on campus, characterize the sort of disregard for student/faculty interests. We’re sorry Ms. Chernow, but we don’t see how making parking for students a difficult, nightmarish process has anything to do with improving Stony Brook’s environmental impact. We also don’t see how anyone in their right mind can consider reducing the number of student spots and increasing every parking rate an “improvement.” Screw you. We hope someone parks in your spot every day next year.
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