Students call for monthly, semesterly parking passes

Langara students already pay a pretty penny to park on campus and while some students think the college should expand its parking options, Langara isn’t ready to offer more choices just yet.

The Imperial Parking Canada Corporation provides three options when it comes to parking on campus: four hours for $3.50, short-term parking for $1.50 per half hour, or $7 until 11:40 p.m., all of which are on a pay-by-stall system. Parking permits are currently only available for college employees.

Langara is one of a few campuses in the Lower Mainland that doesn’t offer monthly or weekly passes for students.

Langara wants to promote public transit over driving

Raymond Yeung, U-Pass and transportation coordinator for Langara, said in order to encourage the use of public transit, Langara decided not to offer a monthly pass for students.

“The college considered monthly parking passes for students in the past, but felt that by having students pre-pay for a parking pass, it would discourage them from using U-Pass BC or transit later on,” said Yeung.

Students say there are not enough parking options

However, Langara kinesiology student Randy Dalen said he would benefit from a monthly or weekly pass if one were made available.

Brooke Miller, a general studies student, said Langara’s current parking system is too restrictive.

“It’s annoying how you have to pay for a stall, if you pay for all day parking you can’t leave that stall,” said Miller.

Other post-secondary institutions offer a wider variety of campus parking options for students and faculty.

For example, Simon Fraser University has semester parking rates that range from $279 for an outdoor lot or $490 for an indoor lot. Kwantlen Polytechnic University also offers a weekly parking pass for $14.

Reported by Madelyn Forsyth