| Pablo Milanese/The Cougar
It’s no secret that parking is one of the University’s biggest flaws. With over 40,000 students enrolled, commuters make up about 85 percent of the entire undergraduate population, making it seem impossible to accommodate everyone.
During a recent meeting, Parking and Transportation Services and the Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee announced two new parking lots would be built by Fall 2019.
A $2.3 million asphalt lot by the Energy and Research Park to accommodate 1,000 spaces will be ready by next fall. Plans for a five-story garage located near the law center and Hines College of Architecture and Design were discussed as well.
The $30 million project is likely to be finished by Fall 2019 and will be accessible to all students and staff.
“The new garage will be in lot 18A,” Director of Parking and Transportation Bob Browand said. “We’re looking at an 18-month project with the space count of the stadium garage which is about 2400 cars.”
Even with TPAC’s efforts, many students currently enrolled are unsatisfied because they said they will not reap the benefits of the new parking lots.
Law student John Hwang began a petition addressed to President Renu Khator urging the administration to take measures to alleviate the parking issues.
With 1,818 supporters so far, Hwang said the wasted hours in the parking lot daunt his Cougar pride.
However, he believes solutions are possible with the help of students.
“I got involved in making a difference because of James Lamey,” second year law student and petition supporter Grace An said. “He actively pushed law students to fight against UH regarding parking issues and helped us become more aware on how we could make a difference.”
Elliot Kauffman, a TPAC chair, said he is aware of the petition and takes students’ concerns over parking seriously.
“There are so many steps that go into building these new lots and garages but we hope to have many of (Hwang’s) ideas implemented in our master plan,” Kauffman said. “As a student and commuter myself, I didn’t just join TPAC as a resume builder — I experience the same obstacles. More importantly, I encourage students to come to the town hall meetings and contact us directly with any questions or concerns they have.”
The University is working with Parking and Transportation Services and the Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee to come up with new alternatives and solutions.
Hwang and Lamey’s supporters know a quick and easy solution is probably not possible and that change will most likely occur when they are gone. Both hope the administration will make parking concerns a priority so that students won’t graduate UH with a bitter taste in their mouths.
“I hope people have seen John Hwang’s petition to President Khator, and more importantly, read it and added their signature to the cause,” Lamey said.
“John is a friend of mine and fellow law student, and although we may not see the benefits of our efforts before we graduate, we and many other concerned students have tried to improve our school.”
In the past decade (since 2006), UH has built four new parking garages on campus.
Talking about how bad parking is at UH is beating on a dead horse at this point.
Everyone and their mother recognizes it and everyone knows how to fix it: add more lots and garages. Unfortunately for everyone currently enrolled, these things take time and immediate solutions are near zero.
Actually the immediate answer is making 20% of classes in the 10-4pm time block night classes, which no students or facility want. Further you could force students to go to ERP after 12ish until the closer lots clear out which again no one wants. Short term solutions have a way of not being a pleasant pay off.
I like the class time change idea, but you said it yourself: hardly any staff or faculty would be willing to be on campus that late.
Unfortunately, the ERP idea is ineffective because of the frequency and duration of shuttle trips between there and campus. Not to mention, even the ERP fills up pretty well during the day. I’m not sure I want to see the day when people are getting rejected from an over-full shuttle only to have to wait for the next one delaying them an additional 45 – 60 minutes. The good news is that in the master plan there’s proposed construction for a pedestrian overpass (underpass?) from the ERP to campus, but therein lies the time problem again.
This pedestrian space, from the 2015-2020 master plan? (Page 14.)
Yup.
That’s the one.
But even looking at it now, that’s quite a trek. I’m not sure why they’re paralleling it with the bayou instead of taking it straight across spur 5.
I was heard from TPAC Vice-Chair David Kazanci that it’s federal bike path project.
Looking at Google Maps though, it shows the path as going underneath Spur 5 and the train tracks, eliminating the need for crosswalks. It also appears to be part of a path running the entire length of Brays Bayou.