Letters: Parking in front of Student Union 
March 5, 2009 by Letters
To the Editor,
I am a frequent visitor to the UNLV Student Union, I love to support UNLV anyway I can. Recently I’ve attended multiple gatherings to protest and to discuss the fiscal state of our university. And I enjoy the time I get to spend on the beautiful campus. But there is a darker side of these rallies hosted at the SU, wandering aimlessly in the parking lot in front of the SU!
Now, I understand VP’s and higher up’s getting permanent parking spots. And the fact they are not parked directly in front of the union and that I normally see the same cars in these spots means they are getting used so that’s not the problem. Now, the staff parking…that seems to take up over 80% of the parking in that lot (known as Lot D)!
I’m not huge into marketing, nor do I know a whole lot bout’ advertising but I do know if you want to draw people into your business, maybe making it easy and accessible for all customers is a start. And any other business knows a very simple rule, “employees park in the back!” A simple rule, but whatever reason UNLV didn’t see it that way. “Let’s make this huge, welcoming place for all students to come, provide activities for them, give them a place to relax and when needed it can host events for everyone…oh but never mind giving visitors or students parking in front of this building! The people that work there THEY should get accessible parking!”
What are we saying UNLV? I mean first off student employment is overpaid, even by union standards (*plus I’ve seen plenty of “Staff” working on leaving their Nightelf Hunters then actually working) and to top it off we provide little to no parking for visitors? That building is right in the middle of UNLV facing Maryland Parkway, it’s the first thing most people see now! I say make that whole lot paid parking; again I don’t mind the higher up’s getting spots but all the parking directly in front of the union should be first come first serve! I don’t mind paying for parking and even if they raised meter parking in that lot a dollar more an hour, I would at least know the people paying are helping fund that union and not getting paid to sit in it.
Pete Wrigley
I share your frustrations Peter but I should add a few points for clarification. Staff and Reserved parking spaces are paid for by those who use them, they are not a perk. Reserved spaces are the most expensive and are reserved for specific individuals. Staff pay double the amount to park than students do and for that they do not get an assigned spot, they get a “license to hunt” meaning that if they can find an empty spot in front of the Student Union marked “Staff” they may use it. Visitor parking is available in the form of parking meters. UNLV is notorious for its lack of convenient parking but a second parking garage is currently being built. A free shuttle service called The Ride also operates to ferry people in from “remote” parking areas on campus. In reality there is a lot of parking at UNLV, but much of it is not as close to our specific destinations as we might like. I for one would be willing to forego a Staff space “out front” if it meant that I could have a free and convenient one outback, it would save me almost $200.00 a year. But, on a university campus, someone’s backdoor is generally adjacent to someone’s front door so that solution is not as simple as it may appear. Until the wonderful Greenspun building was constructed, there was considerably more parking “out front.” It would appear that UNLV has been a victim of its successful growth. I would add that a fee levied to students, along with facility use fees, meet the bulk of the cost of the Student Union and the Student Wellness and Receration Center. This being said I certainly do share your frustrations at times.