Parking Frequently Asked Questions

2017 Town Hall Presentation (MS Powerpoint, 5.1MB)

Table of Contents

What are they doing to improve parking services?
We are encouraging students to use alternative transportation by improving our alternative transportation programs through additional VCTC bus routes, adding Sunday service to and from campus, incentive programs for housing, and adding more gravel lots.

Despite student growth and being a commuter school, why hasn’t our school’s parking been accommodated?
CI’s enrollment growth is projected at an annual rate of 3%. Unfortunately, as with any construction project, whether it is building classrooms, housing, or parking it is a lengthy process from feasibility to approval and the actual construction of the parking lot. We are currently in the early phases of developing the next parking lot.

Will you be increasing the amount of electric parking spaces?
Yes, we will be increasing the amount of electric parking spaces in the near future. In the meantime, we will be implementing a four-hour limit at the charging stations. This will allow more individuals to utilize the charging units.

Why is student housing parking different than commuter student parking? (I’ve noticed vast amount of empty SH parking spots) How are we deciding the number of SH spots vs regular spaces etc.?
Student housing parking lots were designated specifically to be closer to the housing buildings. The campus must maintain a certain student-to-parking stall ratio, which is how the number of parking stalls is chosen. Empty parking spaces in the SH lots mean that those students have chosen to leave campus for their own reasons, such as buying groceries or working off campus.

Can students expect a parking structure in the near future?
The cost of a parking structure is about $20 million whereas a parking lot is approximately $3 million. Other factors that go into price would be the topography of the land the parking structure would be built on. The land that surrounds University Drive is a floodplain. Additionally, our campus’s student population is not large enough to build a parking structure. We have about 7,000 students while other campuses, like CSU Long Beach, have close to 40,000 students and have parking structures.

Could we create a parking pass for a whole year, instead of a semester, at a slight discount versus the cost of two semesters? This would motivate students to stay in school and feel like they’re getting a deal.
We might consider this possibility, but there are challenges in the feasibility that we would need to consider. We would have to examine how a yearly parking permit would affect refunds and future price increases and take into consideration the cost of printing these year permits versus actual demand.

Could CI make an arrangement to “park and ride” with a certain location off campus, if a parking structure is not feasible?
() There are three park and ride options off of campus: both ends and the center of Camarillo.

Could we specify different lots for events instead of the parking spots right next to the library where students want to park?
The majority of event parking is not held in the parking lots in front of the library. When stalls in the parking lots close to the library are reserved, it is because the event is being held in the library and the spaces are reserved for VIP community members and speakers.

Could we turn overflow into a parking structure?
Addressed in Question 5

During peak times, why don’t they space classes out longer so it gives people time to get to their cars to leave and arriving students can park in their spaces?
We are already looking into this issue.

Students are encouraged to take the bus from the Amtrak station; however, those lots are full. What is being done about this?
There is another parking lot on the other side of the train tracks off of Dawson Drive. This parking lot is typically under-utilized and offers an additional 60-100 spaces at any given time. You can walk up and over the pedestrian bridge from that lot to get onto the Lewis side of the train tracks for the bus.

For housing students, even if they took the bus to alleviate parking, there needs to be a van or something they can ride back from the bus stop.
We cannot provide a shuttle service only for housing students to take from the bus stop to their designated housing building. However, there is an escort service available from 5pm-10pm Monday-Friday that can shuttle anyone from one location to another on campus, so housing students can utilize that service.

On Rincon Drive, can parallel parking spots be marked to ensure the space is used effectively?
Leaving Rincon Drive unmarked has proven to be more efficient. If only small cars parked along Rincon in said marked spaces, then there would actually be wasted space.

As CI is the fastest growing 4-year CSU university, what is being done to ensure parking can keep up with this demand?
We are trying to encourage students to use alternative transportation, as well as carpool, to minimize the amount of vehicles brought on campus. We also added two gravel lots: one passed A3 off of University Drive and one in A10 at the south end of campus.

What is tiered parking? What are pros and cons of this idea? (ex. Not knowing class demands, issues for disabled students, etc)
Tiered parking pricing bases price on location and level of demand, with the highest fees in the most convenient/desirable parking facilities and the lowest fees in the least desirable locations. Pros and cons are mostly based on the student’s personal opinion. However, a pro to this would be students receiving parking closer to buildings they want to talk. Cons of tiered parking include having a limited amount of tiered parking permits available for sale and the lowest parking permit price for further lots would never be lower than the current permit price; the prices would only go up from there to park in more desirable areas. Also, the location of anyone who does not buy a semester parking permit, like visitors and students purchasing a daily parking permit, would need to be addressed.

Where can the bus schedules be found?
Bus schedules can be found online on goventura.org or in the Transportation and Parking office in Placer Hall.

If I have a question about the bus, then who can I reach out to?
(Addressed in PowerPoint) You can reference the Transportation and Parking website via the school’s website, or you can contact our office by phone 805-437-8430 or email parking@csuci.edu.

Can we get a parking permit dispenser in A10?
This will be taken into consideration.

Can we get rid of the 30 minute spots in housing and change it to a regular parking spot?
No because the 30-minute visitor stalls in housing are meant to be utilized for personal, family, and business matters, such as deliveries, family or friend drop-off, and unloading groceries.

In housing for overnight guests, can there be an extended authorized pass? For example, have a one night and two-night pass?
One night passes already exist and can be retrieved through the housing office. A daily parking permit must be purchased for the days the visitor will be on campus. Two-night passes will be taken into consideration.

For the expiration time for overnight guests, can it be changed to a later time? The expiration time that exist now is 9am. On weekdays could it be changed to 10am and on weekends it be changed to 11am.
This will be taken into consideration. However, the longer guests stay in the SH lots, the longer housing students do not have that space available to park in.

What is the breakdown of the $195, how is it currently spent?
The Transportation and Parking Services department is an auxiliary department, meaning we are allotted no money from the University’s general fund. Our department’s expenses are paid through the revenue we accrue, such as selling parking permits. These expenses include things such as department wages, lot maintenance, campus enforcement, and alternative transportation options. Despite not receiving money from the general fund, we are still required to pay into other campus fees.

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