Associated Student Government (ASG) voted unanimously Tuesday to give Miami University undergraduates the opportunity to park in the North Campus parking garage without restrictive hours.
The North Campus parking garage is located beneath the School of Engineering building on East High Street.
Currently, students are only allowed to use the North Campus garage parking lot from 5 p.m to 2 a.m. on weekdays. During the student-restricted hours only faculty, staff, visitors and graduate students can use this parking lot.
Students can currently park in the garage any time during the weekend.
The bill recommends that undergraduate students be allowed to park in the garage with a $25 monthly Access Card that allows them unlimited parking. For $75, a Reserve Access Card guarantees entry and exit any time, even times when the garage houses event parking.
Students who do not wish to purchase a parking pass will be charged 50 cents an hour with a daily maximum of $5.
Jonathan McNabb, vice president of student organizations and author of the bill, stressed the importance of allowing students to use the garage full-time.
"I think it's really important to all students on campus, especially in that area where we're building the new academic quad, that the university provides parking spaces for individuals who want to park in that area."
McNabb also argued that Miami could benefit financially by allowing students to use this parking lot, using the revenues to pay off 2008-09 budget deficits.
McNabb said Miami students have limited parking availability, which causes numerous parking issues.
"Students have faced parking problems on campus for years," he said. "I think this will be a great solution for students as a whole."
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McNabb said his only caution for the legislation would be that administrators would deny it because they do not want students to drive to classes, but McNabb thought that was a moot point.
"People will drive no matter how much legislature (is passed)," he said.
Perry Gordon, Miami's director of parking and transportation services, said the North Campus parking garage has 635 parking spots and 16 handicap spots. As of now, the lot is not in high demand. Miami administration originally restricted this parking lot from undergraduates to encourage fewer students to drive to class, said Gordon.
"The decision was made last spring when we were in a different budget situation," he said.
But even with plenty of opening parking spaces, Gordon said there still are a lot of "what if" and "but" situations that this bill will face.
ASG members saw the potential in this bill and many recognized it as valuable for the student population.
"I think it's a great bill as long as administration follows through with it and the writers of the bill follow through with it," Matt Forrest, secretary of on-campus affairs, said.
According to the Miami operating budget for 2008-09, Miami undergraduates paid $200,000 in fees toward parking, which does not include permit and hourly parking across the Oxford campus.
ASG also unanimously passed legislation to create an ASG ad hoc committee on environmental sustainability that would be open to all students Tuesday.
The creation of this committee would introduce many new people to ASG.
"We're going to have a lot of people outside ASG," said off-campus senator Adam Harris, who wrote the bill. "I think it's going to be a good thing."
Harris said even though many environmental clubs currently exist, the new ASG committee will help network ideas to the appropriate administrators.
Even though this bill passed unanimously, some members still had their doubts about the vagueness of the bill's language.
Some senators, like Nathan Zwayer, wanted the committee to have a specific mission statement in the legislation.
"I think lacking a mission statement will lead to some issues in the future," Zwayer said.
According to Harris, today's social climate demands action. According to the College Sustainability Report Card in 2009 Miami received a C+, compared to Ohio University who received a B-. Out of 300 schools surveyed, 15 schools received the highest mark of an A-.
This report card consists of several categories, which includes climate and energy use, green building, endowment transparency, shareholder engagement, food and recycling, transportation, administration, student involvement and investment priorities.
Zwayer believed that this committee could help Miami score better on this survey next year.
"It will also bring about more environmental awareness. I think it will be a great help," he added.
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