Question: How many stalls are at the University of Hawaii at Manoa parking structure for student parking versus permits sold? The lot seems to always be full in the middle of the day. The UH parking website — manoa.hawaii.edu/commuter/parkingpermits.php — says there’s no guarantee that even with a permit you’ll get parking.
Answer: If you have a UH-Manoa parking permit, you are guaranteed to find a space on campus, said Phyllis S.K. Look, marketing and communications manager for campus services.
Specifically, permit-holders are guaranteed a space in the lower-campus parking structure.
The nonguarantee applies to faculty and staff who hold upper-campus permits and who may not be able to find a space in their designated parking area. If that’s the case, they may use their permits to park in the lower-campus parking garage.
Upper-campus parking permits are not available to students.
About 2,000 permits are issued to students and 1,200 to employees for parking in the 2,939 stalls in the lower-campus parking structure.
“What seems to be a discrepancy between the number of stalls and the number of permits sold makes sense once one takes into account permit usage,” Look said.
That is, many permit-holders don’t come to campus every weekday, nor do all stay the entire day, she said.
So, in addition to permit parking, campus visitors and others are allowed to purchase daily passes on a space-available basis.
To help keep track of the ins and outs of the parking structure, an automated parking system was installed in January, allowing the UH Commuter Services staff to constantly monitor the availability of spaces, Look said.
“Permit-holders are always guaranteed parking in the structure, but this new vehicle-count hardware helps us determine the number of daily passes we can issue,” she said. “We are proud to report that since the beginning of this year, we have been able to accommodate more daily users, without displacing any permit-holders.”
STUDENT PERMITS LIMITED
For students the issue is not so much finding a parking space as it is getting a permit to park on campus.
Look said students are able to buy permits through a reservation process tied to their class registration. Generally, only seniors and graduate students are able to reserve a permit.
With about 20,000 students attending classes at Manoa during the regular academic year, “we are simply not able to satisfy the demand for on-campus parking,” she said.
UH offers to underclassmen a limited number of student carpool permits, which require a minimum of two passengers per vehicle on entry. Look also noted there are various lots in Moiliili that offer monthly UHM student rates.
Look also said UH has made efforts to support alternate modes of commuting to campus, such as walking, biking and buses.
Students who have paid their student fees, for example, qualify for a U-Pass, which allows them to ride TheBus any time and anywhere during the fall and spring semesters.
UH’s free Rainbow Shuttle links key bus stops around the university, and there’s a mobile app that gives shuttle arrival time information (download from www. uhmshuttle.com).
MAHALO
To the person who found my key and CVS Caremark card in the parking lot of the Kaimuki Times Super Market in early March and turned it in to Susan at Kaimuki Longs. Because of the CVS card, she was able to track me down and return the items to me even before I realized that I had lost anything. Mahalo again to both the honest person and Susan. — Florence
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