College Tribune | February 3rd 2009
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€10,000 a day to be stumped up in new parking measures n Cathy Buckmaster Over €10,000 is believed to be the approximate revenue a new parking charge system will raise. The proposed parking system, which is in discussion for introduction for the next academic year, will charge students and staff for parking per hour. President of the Students’ Union, Aodhán ó Deá commented on what the system will entail. “The projected system is based on parking systems used in some American Universities. Anybody who parks regularly on campus can buy an in-car meter which charges you for every hour spent in UCD. The meter is activated by inserting a staff/ student card when parking. This triggers some type of light which shows that you are currently paying for parking. “The charges would be equal for staff and students and are not yet set in stone. There would be a limit to how much one person can be charged in a day. The in-car meter would be a once off purchase and the cost of it would give you an equivalent amount of parking hours free.”
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O Deá also said that “it is suggested that these charges would only be in place on weekdays during term time but once again these are still only proposals and not finalised. Cars without the in-car meter would pay at meters within each car park at a higher rate.” Although the system is not yet finalised, it will aim to benefit the park-
ing situation by charging for a space per hour.” There is no date planned for the implementation of any new system- only ongoing discussions. Realistically if any new system was to be introduced it would probably happen over the summer this year or next year” The proposal of charging for all
parking within UCD has been raised numerous times before and has almost always resulted in mixed reactions and controversy. Ó Deá explains why he thinks it's necessary. “This year the car parking structure in UCD has reached boiling point and something really needs to be done. The SU has no set policy on this new
system yet but I believe personally that something needs to be done about the current situation, whether it is adopting this proposal or any other,” he argues. He further argues that all of the areas and estates surrounding UCD have now introduced pay parking which brings more cars onto campus every day parking for free. It is increasingly hard for any student travelling from outside Dublin to make it in before 9am just to get a parking space. It is hoped that any charge for parking will entice students who can use alternative methods of transport to use them and free up spaces for those who really need them. The projections will allegedly raise a sum of €10,000 a day. The question remains how this vast amount of money will be used. “Any money raised will go back into commuting facilities alone. There are almost 3,200 spaces on campus and this could generate about €10,000 a day but it all depends on rates and limits on charges. A series of initiatives to improve facilities for cyclists are planned as statistically the number of cyclists in UCD has fallen in recent years.”