University ponders major parking-fee hikes
The price of a parking stall at Thompson Rivers University might be about to get much more expensive.
In a campus town-hall meeting last week, two proposals were presented regarding potential hikes in parking costs.
Right now, an on-campus parking space costs $3 per day or $150 per semester for students and visitors.
Staff lots are also $3 per day, while staff permits cost $25 per month.
The proposal contains two options, the first of which would see daily parking rates jump to $3.50 this fall and $4 in September 2013.
The price of a student pass would rise to $175 per semester in the fall and $200 a year later.
The cost of a staff permit, meanwhile, would rise to $525 yearly this fall and $600 the following school year.
That option, according to the proposal, would increase revenue by $175,000 next year and a further $175,000 in 2013.
The second option would see daily rates jump to $4 in the fall and $5 in September 2013.
The price of a student pass would rise to $200 per semester in September and $250 a year later.
The cost of a yearly staff parking pass would increase to $600 this fall and $750 in September 2013.
According to the proposal, that option would increase revenue by $350,000 next year and a further $350,000 the following year.
The proposal states on-campus parking rates have not changed since 2006, when daily rates rose to $3 from $2.
Cliff Neufeld, TRU’s vice-president of finance and the author of the proposal, said it’s still in the early stages.
“We’ll be getting suggestions from the campus community,” he said.
Neufeld expects the proposal will go to the university’s senate budget committee in April, then likely to the board of governors.
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