Maxson
solves parking problem
By Brian Brannon
On-line Forty-Niner
For
a couple of hours every Tuesday and Thursday,
there are no parking spaces available to
students on the Cal State Long Beach campus,
President Robert Maxson said Wednesday at
an Associated Student Senate meeting.
Maxson went on to present a plan that he
hopes will provide more than adequate parking
by late summer or early fall 2005.
Until
then, parking problems will likely get worse,
as construction will take place where 500
to 600 spaces currently exist, he said.
The two proposed structures will be four
stories tall and provide more than 1,500
spaces. They will be located next to George
Allen Field, along Palo Verde Avenue.
Though parking fees will technically be
raised this spring to cover construction
costs, Maxson told the Senate the increase
will not be enacted until 2005.
“It’s always bothered me to charge students
for something they don’t get,” he said.
The reason for increasing the fees now is
to show lenders that CSULB has a guaranteed
revenue stream to repay the loan, he said.
According to a report released to the student
fee advisory committee, the estimated cost
of the structures will be under $42 million.
Maxson said he waited to act on the parking
structure until he found out if the Senate
would put a referendum for a new recreation
center on the spring ballot. Plans for the
center would have included additional student
parking, he said.
In light of a slow economy and rising tuition
costs, Maxson praised the Senate for its
decision to withdraw the referendum.
“I happen to think you made the right decision
to take the item off the ballot this spring,”
he said.
After environmental impact reports and designs
for the structures are approved, construction
is estimated to take about 15 months, he
said. Only one structure will be built at
a time to reduce the impact on parking.
Though student fees will increase, those
paid by faculty and staff will remain the
same due to union contracts negotiated at
a state level. For that reason, Maxson said
the new structures would only be available
to students.
Currently, students pay $63 a semester in
parking fees. That cost is projected to
rise to $98. Maxson said an expanded shuttle
service will also be available for about
one-fourth the parking fee for those students
who wish to park off-campus
Senator Adam Anderson, a member of the student
fee advisory committee, said he approved
of the plan because it reduces the impact
on students during construction and does
not increase fees until the structures are
completed.
“I think it’s a good approach,” he said.
Senator Michael Johnson agreed. He said
traffic problems at CSULB make the structures
a necessity.
“It’s going to work for the students and
prepare for the future,” he said. “President
Maxson works hard and always keeps the students’
interests in mind.”
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