Why can't I park there? Get the concrete answers

No parking was lost or gained when the Levitt Center for University Advancement went up on the north end of the Hancher commuter lot in 1998. UI Parking Services and Facilities Management planners made up for displaced parking spaces by adding a parking area west of the Voxman Music Building. The entire Hancher parking area consists of several individual lots and metered parking areas, including Lot 41 on the far north end (shown above, closest to the Levitt Center), the Hancher Lot, Lot 16 near the Hancher loading dock, Lot 28 east of the Theatre Building, and metered parking spaces near the Art Building. The Hancher Lot alone contains 806 parking spaces, which UI Parking Services assigns to faculty and staff members as well as to commuting students. Photo by Tom Jorgensen.

So, why can’t I park in that lot? It’s never full! It’s a question that UI Parking Services employees hear all the time, according to Linda Noble, director of UI Parking Services. In an article that first appeared in the University of Iowa Business Services quarterly newsletter, Into Print, she explains the ins and outs of getting into the campus’s prime parking real estate.

There could be several reasons why a University parking lot is not at full capacity, because lot usage varies by hour and day. If you arrive early in the morning and see a parking lot with plenty of open spaces, chances are most, if not all, of those spaces will be taken later in the day.

UI Parking Services takes lot counts Monday through Friday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to check usage. The counts show peak times during the day and also show that Tuesday through Thursday are heavier usage days, while on Mondays and Fridays, fewer vehicles are parked in the lots. During academic breaks and the summer, lot usage also is down, because many faculty and staff are not at work. Vacations impact summer usage as well. Those usage patterns help Parking Services workers assign parking spaces in each lot.

Faculty and staff work schedules impact the use of lots, too. On the west side of campus, departments have a variety of work shifts. Split shifts could have a person parking during the day one week and at night the next. Some people who participate in the University’s carpool or van pool programs maintain parking permits so that they have a parking lot space on days when they must drive their own vehicles.

Weather is another factor. When it’s nice, more people walk or ride bicycles or motorcycles rather than drive cars. 

A lot may seem underused if it is the site of a current or upcoming University project. An example on the east campus is Lot 27, on the corner of Madison and Burlington streets. This lot will become part of the new eastside recreation center; additional assignments to the lot have ceased because existing permit holders will be relocated when the lot is eliminated. On the west campus, work on Kinnick Stadium and chilled water projects have reduced the number of permits available for Lot 43. Assignment to cashiered lots, such as the parking ramps near University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, depends on patient and visitor parking needs. As patient numbers go up, the demand for parking in these particular areas goes up. To accommodate this need, high numbers of permits cannot be assigned.

All usage patterns are taken into consideration when assigning permits to a facility. If too many permits are assigned, space may not be available when a permit holder arrives or a patient or visitor requires parking. Every attempt is made to balance all of the needs for parking on campus. 

by Linda Noble