The current price of a reserved evening parking pass at Sonoma State University is $175 and last semester only 29 of them were purchased, according to university officials.
Associated Students is calling for general parking passes to be expanded into reserved lots between the hours of 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. and for the reserved evening parking passes to be dissolved.

Currently, people who own a reserved evening parking pass are able to park in reserved lots Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. and in general lots 24/7.

“We came up with the idea from the many student complaints we received about the lack of parking,” said Shannon Garcia, community affairs senator for Associated Students and one of the main authors of the resolution, “Especially parking that was close to classes at evening hours.”

Parking lots A, D, and Juniper Lane are for reserved parking and are all relatively close to classrooms on campus compared to the general lots. The Associated Students have noted the expressed concern of students walking from general lots to classes after 5 p.m.

“I do feel anxious sometimes walking from the parking lots to class once its gets dark,” said Sean Mantooth, a senior psychology major. “I read online about some of the incidents that happen on campus and I assume they happen once the sun goes down.”

Parking Services was unresponsive after multiple attempts to reach them in regards to the recent resolution, but the Associated students have stated that by discontinuing reserved evening parking passes it will not significantly affect the revenue of parking services.
General parking passes are $94—$81 less than reserved evening parking passes. With only 29 reserved evening parking passes being bought last semester students are either unable or unwilling to pay more for a closer place to park.

“The resolution originally aimed to reduce the price of a reserved evening parking pass,” said Garcia, “But after talking with the senate, it was recommended that it would be best to get rid of the pass altogether and we wrote the current resolution.”  
Many students agree that the reserved parking lots on campus are used less because of the high cost.

“I always see places to park in the reserved parking lots,” said sophomore Ambreana Burciaga, a pursuing nursing major. “I feel like adding more spaces for general parking would be received very well by students.”  

Due to the minimal amount of reserved evening parking pass owners, their opinion was not able to be accounted for. There is also no record online  showing how many students own a reserved evening pass.

Students who drive on campus will have to wait to see if Parking Services responds to the resolution and takes into account the ideas posed by the Associated Students.

In response to the meaning of the resolution Garcia said, “The goal was to allow students closer and more abundant parking closer to their classes during later hours without having to pay more.”

This resolution, along with others created by Associated Students, represent the voice of Sonoma State students and once voted upon, the resolution is passed to administration calling for action. The STAR will update students with any changes regarding general and reserved parking passes in the coming weeks.