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KU parking stacks up well with peers

Anyone who has ever attempted to park on campus, especially during a busy hour, likely has muttered some choice words under his or her breath. However, KU is far from unique when it comes to the campus-parking crunch.

In fact, compared with some peer institutions, KU is doing well in offering parking spaces, in relation to the number of people on campus.

For example, there are about 19,000 parking spaces at Arizona State University. That may sound like a lot, until one considers there are more than 51,000 students enrolled at ASU’s Tempe campus. With plans to boost enrollment to 90,000 by 2020, the competition for a spot will only increase. Arizona State does not designate the majority of spots to certain populations, leaving them available to any eligible permit holder.

KU’s enrollment on the Lawrence campus this fall is 26,342. Donna Hultine, director of Parking and Transit, said the Lawrence campus has 14,376 total spaces, 10,770 of which are available to students, or one space for every 2.446 students. Those numbers don’t take into account the Park and Ride lot on west campus, which honors all valid permits and provides a free shuttle to and from both campuses.

At 46,545 students, the University of Texas’ enrollment is significantly larger than KU’s. However, the Austin campus barely has more total spaces — 15,000 — and actually has fewer spaces — 7,470 — open to students, said Jeri Baker in UT’s Parking Department. That leaves one space for every 6.23 students.

The numbers are comparable between KU and several other Big 12 schools. The total number of spots is around half the enrollment, with about half to two-thirds of those spots available to students.

The following schools, in addition to Texas, responded to requests for information about parking on their campuses:

University of Colorado

  • 31,000 enrollment
  • 12,000 total spaces
  • 6,000 spaces available to students
  • One space for every 5.166 students

University of Missouri

  • 28,070 enrollment
  • 23,000 total spaces
  • 11,000 spaces available to students
  • One space for every 2.552 students

Oklahoma State University

  • 23,307 enrollment
  • 13,332 total spaces
  • 8,020 spaces available to students
  • One space for every 2.906 students

Texas Tech University

  • 24,717 enrollment
  • 17,657 total spaces
  • 10,725 spaces available to students
  • One space for every 2.305 students

Texas A&M University

  • 46,612 enrollment
  • 36,963 total spaces
  • 20,741 spaces available to students
  • One space for every 2.247 students

Whether or not the numbers make motorists feel better about their chances of finding a spot, students, faculty, staff and visitors can at least know they’re not alone in the quest for campus parking.

TOPONYMS

Robinson Health and Physical Education Center opened in 1966 on Sunnyside Avenue. It retained the name of the first Robinson Gymnasium, which was completed in 1907 (Wescoe Hall is now on the site) and largely designed by physical culture professor James Naismith. The building was named for Charles and Sara T.D. Robinson, who originally owned the land it stood on. They were founders of Lawrence, and he was the first governor of Kansas. For more, see www.buildings.ku.edu.