When fourth-year political science student Kyle Kleckner was commuting during his freshman year, he was denied a parking permit and had to end his 35-mile drive to UCLA by searching for street parking.
Kleckner, also president of Bruin Democrats, said he was denied parking both during his application and his subsequent appeal, with no explanation given from transportation officials.
But now, with more students using alternative transportation methods and living in the residence halls, all commuting students should be able to receive parking permits, according to UCLA Transportation Services officials.
Renee Fortier, the director of Transportation Services, said in the past two years all commuting students have qualified for parking permits, regardless of how far they live from campus.
“Based on our current application levels, we have not had to turn away commuter students,” Fortier said.
But some students, such as Jamie Henricks, a graduate student in library and information science, were denied parking despite living 30 miles away.
“I understand that parking is in very high demand, but I think it’s pretty much (unfair) to know that (undergraduate) students are getting permits and I’m getting left in the dirt,” she said.
Henricks, who plans to appeal for a space, said alternative transportation options were not feasible for her due to cost and time.
She added that she wanted to learn more facts about the availability of parking spaces and who is allotted spaces.
Some commuter applicants may initially be denied parking because they only select lots with limited space, said Associate Director of UCLA Transportation and Parking Services Eric Lew.
“If the applicant chooses to indicate just one or two parking structures, we may not have allocations available at those specific lots,” he said.
Lew recommended that applicants select all possible lots to secure their chances of receiving a permit.
If the decline in applications continues, Lew said students who are on the parking waiting list should be able to get permits.
“For the past couple years we’ve been able to go through the wait list with students and offer them parking,” he said.
Fortier said UCLA has received 6,178 parking applications this year so far, a downward trend from previous years. She estimates that after appeals, the number will come closer to 7,000. Last year, UCLA offered parking to approximately 9,600 students, of whom 2,300 were graduate students and 500 were students living in on-campus housing.
Fortier attributes the decline in the number of parking applications to increased use of alternative transportation methods such as city buses and the UCLA Vanpool, as well as more students living in on-campus housing.
“We’re now at a point where 45 percent of our employees come to campus by means other than a single-occupancy vehicle,” she said.
Despite the greater availability of on-campus parking, Fortier encouraged students to continue to utilize alternative transportation methods.
Long-term commuters like fourth-year international development studies student Fabiola Inzunza have switched from carpooling to public transit.
Inzunza said it was a hassle to get to UCLA by car and it is cheaper for her to take the bus.
Fortier said she estimates that alternative transportation saves UCLA from 1.8 million automobile trips a year.
She added that Transportation Services continues to assist commuter students with alternative transportation and is prepared to start a new subsidized bus program with Santa Clarita’s public transit system.