Why the Parking Increase?

Mike Habegger September 26, 2008 No Comments

Danielle Azoulay
Staff Reporter

Having a car on campus just got more expensive. Not only are gas prices rising, but so is the price to park at McDaniel College. The fee to park on campus is now $100, an increase $25 since last year, causing many students to get upset.

“I used to pay $385 per semester to park on campus at Temple, but I understood why. We were in the city, and the school had to pay someone to sit there and watch my car 24 hours a day,” said Senior Amanda O’Loughlin who transferred to McDaniel in 2007.
So what is the reasoning behind McDaniel’s parking price increase?

Dr. Ethan Seidel, Vice President of Admissions and Finance, explained that the main reason is that the school now has more parking lots which means that there is more that must me maintained. Also the cost of building the new lot by North Village cost approximately $400,000 according to Seidel.

“Overtime we are trying to pass off some of that cost onto the people who use it,” said Seidel, “If you didn’t have a parking fee the school would have to pay for the lot, then everybody would have to pay for the parking lot whether they were users or not.”

He feels it was hitting the three digit mark that truly alarmed students. “In reality parking only went up $12.50 a semester,” said Seidel.

However, to many students like Senior Sarah Crum that extra $12.50 a semester wasn’t worth it.

Crum, who had to have a car while at school because of her internship, said “to pay $100 is ridiculous especially if you live in the Garden Apartment area. It is more convenient to find a spot on the street.”

Although Crum feels that her car is not as safe of campus as it is on campus, she believes that the odds of her finding a spot near her building is so slim that it would be a waste of $100 to register her car.

The lack of parking in the Garden Apartment area has been noticed by many, including the school’s surrounding neighbors.

According to O’Loughlin neighbors have been placing notices on cars asking students to respect the elderly that live in the area, and that there is “ample” parking on campus.

“We want to park near where we live too,” said O’Loughlin, who feels that she would rather park on Pennsylvania Avenue than have to park across campus even though she paid the $100 to register her car.

Other price increases for this year include tuition, Pub food, air conditioning permit fee, swim lessons, and music lessons per credit.

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