Parking pass price differs between Michigan universities
The cost of parking permits at CMU does not seem to deter the purchasing of permits for students.
Kim Roshak, manager of parking services, said on average, 12,000 parking passes are sold each year at CMU, including faculty and staff permits.
With 12,000 vehicles trying to get find a spot, however, things can get crowded.
Tom Giordano, lead dispatcher for CMU Police, said he has received complaints of students parking in faculty lots, but it could just be because they do not understand where to park.
Some students choose to stay clear of the crowds, all together and use other means of transportation.
Muskegon senior Michael Hotwagner is an off-campus student who did not purchase a parking permit this school year. He said he would rather spend the money on other things.
“(I would spend it on) everything — bills, a bike to ride to class,” he said.
Other schools
Parking passes at Central Michigan University cost students either $150 or $175 a year, where at some universities they are free.
“The price of parking permit is board approved and the price has been the same for the past five years or more. I believe if you compare our parking permit prices to other university’s you would find they are comparable if not less than other large universities,” Roshak said.
Universities in Michigan, such as Oakland University and Saginaw Valley State University do not charge students for parking permits.
“The rural setting (of Saginaw) gives adequate parking for students on campus,” said Joyce Payne, head of Parking Services for SVSU. “Due to the hard economic times, I doubt the university would want to burden its students with another fee.”
Payne said she does not see charging students for parking as a issue for the immediate future.
Other universities, however, charge more than CMU does for parking permits. A yearly parking permit at Western Michigan University is $300.
And Muskegon sophomore Debra Warren, who transferred to CMU from Grand Valley State University, said the parking passes at GVSU were $155 per semester, so she never purchased one when she went to school there. Warren chose not to purchase a parking pass at CMU either.
“Riding the bus or riding my bike (is how I get around),” Warren said.
Where does the money go?
The fees from the parking permits go to improving things on campus, Roshak said.
“Parking improvement and most goes to the general fund,” she said.
These improvements include building and redoing parking lots on campus, as well as improving the police department and other buildings around campus.
