The issue: Administration is considering tacking another $30 fee to fund a new $10 million parking structure to be erected in Creason Lot.

Our stance: We fully commend the administration for coming up with a creative solution, using resources we already have. Our hope is that this continues smoothly, as the university continues to keep all factors in mind. 

 The parking issue is no stranger to anyone on campus, and administration has  finally come up with fair, viable options for future parking.

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For starters, this is still very much in the early stages. There are a number of steps to go through before anything actually happens, but if passed, fees would be implemented this coming fall. 

After everything that the lack of parking has put students through, adding a couple hundred spaces to an existing lot is a pretty good idea. It keeps the university from purchasing new land even farther away from campus, as well as increasing the usability of a pre-existing parking lot. 

While students who don’t drive may be opposed to a fee implementation they won’t even use, the administration has an alternative solution. A reduction of the $30 tuition fee, in addition to an increase in the parking permit fee, would even the costs. 

Compared to other university parking passes, an extra $50 tacked onto the price would still put us lower than other Kentucky universities — a potential $210, compared to University of Kentucky’s commuter tag, priced at $264. 

According to RSMeans.com, a construction cost data website, a $10 million parking structure builds a basic 145,000 square foot, five-floor parking structure — a building similar to the Alumni Square Garage.

The ASG currently houses about 450 spaces, compared to Creason Lot’s estimated 700. We hope that the construction of a new garage will allow for more student parking, opposed to a cut. 

Another factor to keep in mind is the possibility of making the garage LEED certified. While the concept of a parking garage doesn’t exactly scream “environmentally friendly,” the new construction offers WKU a chance to continue taking environment-conscious measures. 

Sure, another fee added onto tuition isn’t the best possible thing that could happen. However, in our opinion, beggars can’t be choosers. In all honesty, this is the best possible solution the university could’ve come up with. As new information becomes available, we’ll be more able to discern if this action is moving in the right direction. But right now, we’re all for it.