North Texas Daily

The Village Church of Denton’s parking lot, which has long been used for free by UNT students, will begin selling parking passes for the fall semester, church officials said. The lot, located on Oak Street was causing traffic for the church members. 

The church hopes to lighten the workload for its facility manager.

“The administration for the lot was becoming too burdensome on our facility manager,” said Village Church of Denton Pastor John Warren. “He was having to get up here at 6 o’clock in the morning to shut the lot down on certain days, as well as monitor people parking illegally in our lot.”

Over the years, students have used the lot to attend school or visit the businesses on Fry Street. As the parking lot became fuller, the church attempted to add restrictions that did not work, which led to the addition of paid parking passes.

Anyone can show up and purchase passes starting at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 29 at the church office. 

The cost is $200 for the school year for a guaranteed spot. The church has 193 parking spots and will sell the same amount of permits.

“The church was my only hope last year, but now I’ll have to park far behind the dance building just to attend class,” converged broadcast media senior Keia Black said. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that walk in the sun.”

The church has closed the lot for this week, as well as Monday and Tuesday of next week. It will also keep many entrances closed through September to draw attention to the change. 

The church will place a reader board along Oak Street, and new signs will be posted at all entrances.

“The entire lot will be open unless it is designated for something else, [like] church-only, Chinese church-only and a few resident spots,” Pastor Warren said. “There will be no discounts, either.”

Although the parking passes will be scheduled to release next week, Pastor Warren said the change is effective immediately.

“At least it’s cheaper than UNT’s parking permits,” communications major Malik Douglas said. “That parking spot at the church will help me make it to class on time and attend all events on campus. I think it’s worth it.”

Only people with a paid parking pass will be allowed to park in their lot. Car owners will be towed at their expense if they park without a permit.

Featured Image: The Village Church is a parking lot frequently used for free parking near campus. The church recently decided to place heavier restrictions, and starting this semester will charge $200 for a parking pass. Will Baldwin