The University Department of Parking and Transportation has decided to increase parking fees, beginning in May.
Fees for the permits for premium reserved spots and parking on Grounds, which usually are purchased by University faculty and staff, will increase $5 per month. Spaces in off-site parking lots and garages will increase $1 per month, and fees for parking spaces near dorms will increase $6 per month. The hourly rates at the Central Grounds parking garage will remain the same.
"The intent is to make it such that if people feel like they want to pay for the convenience of having a car nearer they can, but they can always pay for a low cost service," said Shamim Sisson, transportation and parking committee member and University senior associate dean of students.
The Transportation and Parking Committee -- made up of University faculty, staff and student representatives -- reviews proposals from the Department of Parking and Transportation each year.
Every three years, the Committee creates a new three-year plan. This year, most of the discussion focused on parking rates, committee member Prof. Leonard Schoppa said.
"The principal of the planning process is that we like to make it gradual so you don't suddenly increase somebody's expenses," Schoppa said.
The Department of Parking and Transportation is an auxiliary service -- it is not state funded and instead operates on its own revenues. The Transportation and Parking Committee must increase rates if it is to be able to continue to support itself, Sisson said.
"The Committee looks at the projected revenues and the projected expenses for Transportation and Parking," she said. "The staff lays out what those things are, but we consider then what the parking rates should be in order to consider the amount of revenue needed."
In addition to raising rates to maintain revenue for Parking and Transportation, an increase in parking rates across the University will spread the burden of building new parking facilities, Schoppa explained.
"If you were going to charge people the full amount for one of these spots, you would have to charge them $100 a month for these spots," Schoppa said. "No one would want to pay that. We tried to spread the amount of these parking lots across" all University parking facilities.
Many parking lots have been lost to building expansion. New parking facilities, such as the parking building planned for behind Culbreth Theater, are intended to meet demand for parking spaces, Schoppa said.
Read More
Panamanian Ambassador speaks on country’s relationship with the U.S.
By Edward Christopher | 4 hours agoThe Center for Politics hosted the event as part of Global Week 2025 in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education.
Three years after the Nov. 13 shooting, U.Va. has reshaped safety systems
By Brendon Bordwine | 5 hours agoIn the years since the attack and following external reviews of the incident, the University has reshaped its threat assessment infrastructure, expanded emergency alert systems, reorganized student accountability operations and significantly built out mental health services.
Spanberger asks U.Va. Board of Visitors to delay appointment of new president
By Cecilia Mould and Ford McCracken | 13 hours agoIn the letter, Spanberger urged the Board to hold off on selecting finalists in the search and not to appoint a president until she has filled five current vacancies.
