Parking Allocation Changes Cause Frustration Among Commuters

On October 24, 2023, UC San Diego Parking and Commuter Services Director Jennifer Rodgers released a school-wide email informing that there were “parking allocation changes in South, Scholars, and Hopkins Parking Structures.”

The email informed that Student Commuter (S) spaces increased in the Hopkins Parking Structure. However, no changes were made to the decrease in Student Resident (SR) spaces from the ongoing construction of Ridge Walk North Living and Learning Neighborhood.

As for Scholars Parking Structure, SR spaces increased and S spaces were completely removed. Parking and Commuter Services’ reason for removing Spaces is explained in the email as, “Heavy use of S parking spaces by residents has meant little turnover and frustration for commuters hoping to find the last available space.”

Lastly, South Parking Structure removed S spaces in place for SR spaces. The reason being, “Significant residential parking needs from Rita Atkinson Hall, along with Eighth College and Revelle College displacement during Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood construction has resulted in heavy use of S parking spaces by residents and frustration for commuters hoping to find the last available space,” according to Rodgers in the email.

In addition to the parking allocations, permits for SR spaces increased to $4.30 per day. In an email sent to all students on December 18, 2023, Rodgers encouraged students with SR parking passes to park at Parking Lot 705 on Voigt Drive to receive a discount for $2.30 per day.

The email sent in October also claimed to look forward to the Theatre District Parking Structure opening this Winter Quarter, which would add 1,150 parking spaces.

Since the announcement in October, the Theatre District Parking Structure, as of now, is still under construction. As a response, there has been a rise in complaints from students of UCSD’s new parking allocations. One poster on UCSD’s subreddit complained of some spaces being occupied for days.

Student commuters have also complained about the increased price for parking regardless of the new parking spaces available, especially with discounts only being limited to SR spaces.

Third-year Literature/Writing major, Sydney Ho, who has been commuting for a little over a year shared her frustrations over the removal of S spaces:

“Spots like Pangea and Sixth, which were already hard to find parking in, were my usual places to attempt parking on campus, so the fact that such a large percentage of S spots were removed makes those parking structures basically useless unless I want to run the risk of getting ticketed.”

UCSD Parking and Commuter Services provides summaries of parking occupancy the first week of each quarter. So far from the data given for Fall 2023, 6 out of 11 parking structures and lots which had S and SR spaces were full by 8:00 a.m. For Winter 2024, 3 out of 14 parking structures and lots were full by 8:00 a.m. while 6 out of 14 had no data. The other spots either did not fill or filled later on in the day.

Fourth-year Human Biology and Literature/Writing double major, James Woolley shared how the limited parking available has affected his daily commute.

“The recent changes in parking have forced me to park further and further away from campus. Normally it only takes me 10 minutes to drive to campus, but because I have to park on the medical campus before taking the shuttle to the trolley stop, I have to leave home at least 50 minutes before my class to get to campus on time.”

When asked what they wished parking directors were aware of, Ho responded with, “Nobody believes that the reallocation of parking spots is benefitting anyone except the parking patrol on power trips. Why does the school choose to intentionally make the school experience of commuting students more difficult?”

Woolley also stated, “The recent parking allocation changes have been massively unfair to commuter students, especially to the many students who do not have a choice whether or not to drive to school…”

The Triton reached out to Director of Parking and Commuter Services, Jennifer Rodgers, for additional comment on the parking allocations but received no response.

Cydney Macon is the News Editor for The Triton.