Wednesday, the Ole Miss Department of Parking and Transportation announced plans to revamp the campus parking system.
The plan has three stages, the first of which will go into effect July 1.
The plan will implement the option of reserved parking spots for faculty and staff, expand shuttle hours and simplify parking registration procedures.
According to Director of Parking and Transportation Isaac Astill, the plan was created with input from faculty, staff and students.
“We got a wide array of input, and we have to consider each other’s motives,” Astill said.
“I think we came up with a well-rounded plan.”
One of the most notable changes is the availability of reserved parking spots for faculty and staff. Individuals opting to pay the $600 for a personal parking stall will still have access to the general faculty parking.
“We have priced these spots to a level where people will still be willing to pay for the convenience,” Astill said.
Students who live on campus will now pay $115 for a residential hangtag. The $30 price hike, according to Astill, is in place for the benefit of the students.
“We’re not doing this to make more money,” he said.
“We’re doing this to make things more convenient.”
Astill said the extra dollars spent on hangtags will be used to pay a security company to police residential lots on game days.
The security personnel will be in place to prevent game-goers from edging students out of their on-campus spots.
Faculty, staff and students will now register their vehicles online, and the Department of Parking and Transportation will mail the tags to a permanent address.
Astill also addressed the potential for students to share hangtags.
He said whether students share is a personal choice, but that they should be aware that the hangtag they purchase is linked with their individual student ID number and bursar account.
Any tickets assigned to a vehicle using the tag will be charged to the owner of the tag, who may not necessarily be the guilty driver.
Illustration by Grant Beebe and Molly Yates
