North Texas Daily

By Preston Mitchell | @presto_mitch

Updated Thursday, Aug. 18

Just when UNT’s parking situation couldn’t get much worse, the school unveiled a revamped permit system earlier this month that has caused controversy among the student body. In this case, the uproar is quite justified since UNT swept the General and Premium Commuter permits under the rug in favor of newer, more expensive permits. Furthermore, officials concluded that fewer permits will be sold this year to prevent students from “overcrowding in parking lots.”

While our leaders say they want to improve UNT’s parking issues, this new plan is problematic for several reasons.

First and foremost, look at how it’s affected Greek housing. As much as fraternities tend to be the whipping boys of Denton hipster culture, it’s important to note that hundreds of students live in frat and sorority houses near campus.

For Greek life, the new costs dampen matters since their parking lot was allegedly closed for “future property development.” This is an unfortunate coincidence that will force these students to buy pricey permits.

Additionally, not everyone can afford them. Sure, previous parking situations were bad enough since we paid for spots that weren’t necessarily guaranteed. Not to mention that officials ramped up the costs, stating this action as their solution for overcrowded parking. However, the increase in price makes it harder for students swimming through debt on a daily basis; particularly the abundance of us that struggle just to pay our rent each month.

The decision to convert resident lots into Eagle permit lots, leaving room to build wholly new “R” lots, is also illogical. The entire block of Clark, Maple and Kerr Halls had perfectly sufficient “R” lots from the beginning, so making Fouts Field their closest point of parking makes no sense at all. The remaining “R” lots at Victory Hall are far enough as it is, so why make it difficult for freshmen that want a smooth college transition and nothing more?

Before you invoke the word “bus” to any questions we have, keep in mind that the school’s bus system is far from ideal. During the fall and spring semesters, the buses run slower than they should, are quick to leave students that arrive at correct times or will unabashedly skip their requisite stops. Trying to compensate for parking issues with this kind of transportation is like an animal intercepting a football – at the end of the day, both measures are equally fallible.

This is what we’ve come to: a parking system that has mangled existing lots and inconvenienced residents and commuters alike. The troubles that it’s bound to cause are foreseeable beyond reason, which is ironic considering how our officials kept these plans from us until this month even began. All we can do now is hope that the system reforms itself again. Preferably sooner than later, UNT.

Featured Image: File Photo

CORRECTION: In the original post of this article, there were two factual inaccuracies that have since been revised. The author first wrote that parking permits were sold out. That is untrue. It was reported that students must pay “$850 year-long pass and pricier permits.” That is untrue. According to a UNT official: “The highest parking permit available to students is the $450 garage permit.” And the original report included incorrect information about the dates and times commuters can park on campus; that portion has been removed altogether. The Daily regrets its errors.