SRSC alters parking policy

By now, we're all too familiar with the problem. There aren't enough parking spots at the SRSC. With students parking there to go to class, spots are scarce for those who want to use the facility.\nStudent leaders and directors for the Division of Recreational Sports are working on this problem, and plans to change the lot are in the works.\nAlthough details are still being debated, one thing is sure -- students will soon have to pay to park at the SRSC if they aren't using the facility.\n"When classes are in session, there are always lines of cars waiting to park. And then you go into the SRSC during these times, and it is practically empty," said Brooke Albright, president of \nStudent Recreational Sports Association. \nThe new system would first require that all students parking in the lot have a University permit (A, C, D, E or F). In the new plan, there would be a monitored entrance gate, similar to others on campus pay lots. Students would have two hours of free parking if they use the facility and get their ticket validated inside. For each half-hour over the two hour limit, students would have to pay a fee. If students don't show a validated ticket they would be charged for the whole time. The fee would be competitive with other lots on campus such as the Indiana Memorial Union lot. \nOne amount that has been proposed is $1.50 per half hour with a daily maximum of $13.50. \nThe two hour time period is one of the points still up for debate. Some people, such as members of club sports teams, said the time should be increased to three hours. \n"This issue blew up in a Club Sports meeting," said Laith Shaaban, Club Sports Federation president. "Some people are saying that they should get more than two hours."\n"We have been asking the question, 'What's an acceptable amount of time to use the facility?'" said Jackie Puterbaugh, associate director of the Division of Recreational Sports. "This is being discussed." \nUnder this plan, members of IU athletic teams and employees of the SRSC would receive free parking for the time they require the facility.\nBut not everything has been set in stone yet. \n"It's all up for discussion; it has not been confirmed yet," Albright said.\nAlbright and Puterbaugh expressed the need for student input in this decision process. \n"I would encourage students to talk to student government and SRSA and let them know if they consider this a priority," Puterbaugh said. \nShaaban emphasized that SRSA and CSF are working for the needs of students in this plan. \n"All students desire more turnover at that lot, and a monitored parking lot will be the only way to achieve this," Shaaban said. "We see it as an opportunity to better meet the needs of SRSC patrons, and that's what we're fighting for." \nE-mail concerns about the SRSC parking lot issue to srsa@indiana.edu.