Parking prices and the real cost to students

Back in July of 2019, the parking rates went up at all UW Tacoma lots, the rates for parking had not been adjusted in 10 years. As such, the rates had fallen well below the market and could no longer cover the necessary costs associated with maintaining and improving the lots. The uptick in costs, however, means that many students are now searching for parking elsewhere.

Aside from the paid lots, there is free on-street parking, however, the cost of these free spots is the need to move your vehicle every 1.5–3 hours depending on where you park. That can mean leaving class a little early, sneaking out in the middle of the lecture to move your car, or the inability for students to stay on campus after class gets out — all to avoid a ticket. 

All of these options leave students sacrificing something, be it part of their education or part of their paycheck. There is one other option that is only recently being explored by students — parking on the roof. All of the buildings on UWT’s campus have plenty of open space available for parking, and it is completely unregulated.

“Technically, if a student can get their car up there, then there isn’t anything that we can do about it,” Henry Ford, The Senior Directing Coordinator of Parking Affairs and Parking Related Events & Activities for UWT’s campus then went on to say “There are no regulations regarding the use of the roof by students for their vehicles.”

Only one student has ever successfully parked their vehicle atop one of the buildings, Tucker Knievel — with no relation to Evel Knievel. Knievel majored in Applied Mathematics of Stunts and completed his Capstone Project on the plausibility of getting his motorcycle on top of the Dougan building. After successfully proving his theory, Knievel graduated with honors. Knievel did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

While the prices of parking really did go up this year, and the effects to students discussed are all too real, all people, quotes, and stories in this article are fake. However, if you or any other student does manage to get their vehicle on top of one of the building’s please reach out to the Ledger, so that we can get a quote. 

The Ledger does not encourage students to attempt to park their vehicles on top of any buildings. Happy April Fools’ Day!