Parking permits will increase 9 percent for the 2005-2006 year, Theta Dempsey, director of Parking and Transportation Services, said Thursday night at a UOSA-hosted parking forum.
Eight students and nine student government officials spoke with Dempsey in 125 Dale Hall.
Dempsey said parking permits would raise to $195 for the 2005-2006 year, from $179, to meet rising operation costs.
'It is something I hadn"t planned on announcing tonight, but I might as well do it,' she said. 'Yes, parking permits will rise for next year.'
Several students asked during the forum why OU could not replace existing parking lots with parking garages, which could double the parking capacity.
Dempsey said a 750-space parking garage could cost from $12 million to $13 million.
'Building a garage on an existing parking lot would require millions of dollars of money and flexibility from the university as a whole,' she said. 'That"s because students would be displaced while the parking garage is under construction.'
One of the student attendees said he was glad to attend the forum.
'It was interesting,' said Sean Conner, University College freshman. 'It brought up some good topics, especially the parking garage issue. I"ve always wondered that, but once she explained the cost, I understood the reason why.'
Dan Hensley, Student Congress representative and business sophomore, voiced concerns over parking being pushed to the backburner by the administration.
'I have a few concerns about parking,' Hensley said. 'Namely, I feel we are putting off the problem of parking. As the university gets more and more students, we require more and more parking.'
Dempsey was later asked why some of the $1 billion that OU President David L. Boren has claimed to bring to OU is not being spent on parking issues.
'Nobody gives money to build parking garages,' Dempsey said.
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