ASU visitor parking fees are about to double.
Starting Sept. 1, visitor-parking fees will increase from $1 to $2 an hour in Lot 42 and Structure 1.
"It's frustrating," said Divya Kakad, a pre-business junior. "What do they [ASU administrators] expect? A lot of students work minimum-paying jobs and a dollar increase is a big thing."
The increased parking fees affect all attended visitors lots, which currently include the visitor spaces in parking Structure 1, across from the W.P. Carey School of Business, and Lot 42, which is west of Rural Road and Lemon Street.
The previous parking fee there was $1 an hour, with a $5 maximum exit fee. Now it's $2 an hour, with a maximum exit fee of $8.
Lot 42 will no longer be an attended visitor location but instead a pay-by-space lot. The lot is targeted for future construction projects.
Visitor parking is in high demand this semester, according to ASU Parking and Transit services.
Roughly 1,700 spaces have been lost due to the construction of the Biodesign Institute and other projects across campus, according to PTS.
Melinda Helton, assistant director of PTS, said that construction of Structure 7 in Lot 59 would be completed by the end of the semester, adding 1,600 additional spaces. The structure is adjacent to the Whiteman Tennis Center and Sun Angel Stadium.
In October, a portion of Structure 4 will be converted into a visitor lot in an attempt to alleviate the parking shortage, creating roughly 300 new visitor spaces.
But for now, students driving to class will have to find parking elsewhere, such as at meters or Tempe lots and structures.
Sonny Stevenson, a computer science senior, said he gave up finding a parking spot on campus a long time ago.
"It's not worth the worries," said Stevenson. "I now just bike to school because it's much easier."
Additional parking spots will be available in the spring when construction of a new parking lot is completed along the ASU Foundation Building at the corner of University Drive and College Avenue. The parking lot will include visitor and decal parking.
Reach the reporter at Laosamoa.poasa@asu.edu.
