The Portland campus parking garage, with its 1,150 car capacity, opened in January 2004 with good intentions and the promising slogan “We have a spot for you!” However, according to some faculty and some students at USM, those good intentions are not good enough. Complaints about the garage range from long lines at the exit, cards not working at the gates and the cost of a spot.
“I’m not too impressed,” said sociology major Josh Chase. According to Chase, a parking garage attendant told him he was not a student as USM because his key card did not work at the entry gate. The parking attendant claimed the computer system is never wrong, and if the computer says that he is not a student, then he would need an official schedule from the Registrar to prove otherwise.
After repeated walks back and forth from the parking garage to the library to the card office, Chase obtained a stamped class schedule of approval and got his key card fixed so he could freely use the garage. According to Chase, the card still did not work, and he had to manually lift the exit gate to leave the parking garage, and some of his frustrations, behind.
“The parking garage needs some work,” he said.
When asked about Chase’s parking predicament, Dewey Ferguson, manager of Parking and Transportation, said “We have problems with the computers a lot.” According to Dewey, his office is trying to change things. “We’re here to help,” Ferguson said.
For students with working cards, getting out of the garage can still be a hassle.
“During the middle of the day I was stuck in traffic for two and a half hours,” said junior and English major, Dover Mundt. Most complaints from faculty, staff and students center around the delays of exiting around mid-day. While most commuters don’t wait as long as Mundt, many people are finding themselves waiting up to half an hour.
Some faculty and staff members see the technical problems at the garage as a moot point. “I don’t even use the parking garage because it is too expensive” said Michelle Brodsky, coordinator of the Sexualities and Gender Diversity Resource Center.
Non-union represented faculty and staff members who park on campus are required to pay 0.4 percent of their annual salary-up to $180 per year-to park in the garage. Faculty and staff with union contracts have the same option or they pay a $25 to $35 fee for surface lots, and an additional $0.50 per half an hour to park in the garage, up to $6 a day.
In January, complaints about the garage reached a boiling point. Commuters started using the USM information listserv to post complaints and horror stories about rude customer service, being charged double for parking and other parking snafus. At the time, when asked if he received any complaints about the situation, Ferguson said “To me personally? No, not that I’m aware of.” But this appears to have changed. “We’re trying to make it better,” Ferguson, said. “We want to make this less stressful, not more stressful for students.”
When asked to comment on various concerns of the student body, Ferguson made it clear that he, along with his staff, try to alleviate any problems that they are capable of. For instance, when a clear line of cars are clearly snaking around the four floors of the parking garage, a staff member will walk to the exit and lift the gate so cars can leave the garage in a more timely fashion.
According to Ferguson, gate-raising really doesn’t make much of a difference in terms of how long it takes to leave, but it gives the students and faculty members exiting the garage peace of mind. “If you have 200 cars all leaving at the same time, well, it’s just not going to happen.” Ferguson said.
In an effort to alleviate other student concerns the parking staff have started ticketing cars parked in two spots, and there is always a representative in the parking office located on the second floor of the garage to aid in any issues people have with the garage. Ferguson said he is trying to lower the annual price of parking.
Ferguson also stated that he is more than happy to meet with any students or faculty members who have issues they want to discuss. He can be contacted at 780-4458.