Sacramento State will need about 1,000 more parking spaces next year, and that number is projected to grow. Parking Structure III is slated to begin construction in the summer of 2004 and will hold approximately 3,000 cars.

The new structure will be larger than the two current structures, said outgoing ASI president Eric Guerra.

“You can’t solve the parking problem,” said Guerra. “But this will help with parking relief.”

Parking Structure III was originally set to go up in Parking Lot 10 near the stadium, but concerns about safety and convenience moved the structure behind the University Union.

Construction is expected to last 18 months once it starts, and as many as 100 parking spots will be unavailable during construction. To complicate matters, a new bookstore located at the union may take up as many spots while it’s being built at the same time, Guerra said.

Parking Structure III will be 100 percent student parking, Guerra said.

“Currently all lots are about 80 percent student, 20 percent faculty,” Guerra said. “After the fee increase went up we recommended that the lot be for students only. Students should have access because they are paying for it.

Parking fees increased from $65 to $85 last fall and will increase again to $130 next fall to help pay for the structure.Safety was a concern in the planning process of the new structure, and surveillance cameras will be installed in the garage.

“No one likes their car to get broken into,” said Guerra. “But our main concern is assault.”

Though the new structure will help alleviate parking pains, Guerra said the real solution is finding alternate ways to get to school.

“We need to get students to use alternate forms of transportation now,” he said. “We’d like to start a publicity campaign to promote alternate transportation. California has a mentality of ‘one person, one car.’ Students need to decide to make an effort to use public transportation, walk or ride a bike.”

Another new building approved at the same time as the parking complex is new housing built on campus. The new housing building will contain apartment-style housing, and be seven to eight stories tall. Guerra said the new housing will keep people on campus, and alleviate the need to drive.

Though this new building will be helpful when it comes to the parking problem, Guerra said it is not much of a solution.”I’d much rather have the space for instructional space,” said Guerra.

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