By Sean Hancock
This new semester brings a lot of changes to UNCP, specifically with parking. Lots 1 & 2 in front of Old Main, beside the railroad tracks, are not owned by the university. The university leased the land from the CSX Transportation company, but now CSX decided not to renew the lease for the university.
Instead, the parking lot is now operated by Preferred Parking Services, LLC. They are a private corporation that charges a fee for parking and operates the lot completely on its own.
The parking permits that UNCP issues to faculty and students are not valid for the lots. To have a valid parking pass for the lot, you must download the ParkMobile app on your phone, put in the lot you want to park in, your license plate number, and credit card information to be able to park.
The ParkMobile app charges hourly for parking. There are two options for the amount of time you choose to park in the lots. There is a three hour option that costs $3.35, and there is a ten hour option that costs $5.35.
“I parked here before the change and I don’t think it’s fair. Over half the students are commuters and now we don’t have computer parking. If we’re paying over a hundred dollars for a parking pass, and we can only park in three lots on campus, that’s a joke.” said Georgianna Enloe, a senior at UNCP.
If a car parks in the lots controlled by PreferredParking Services, LLC, without using the app ParkMobile a car may be ticketed, booted or towed and would be completely out of the control of UNCP.
“I parked there last year, but not anymore. I haven’t looked at the rates to park there, but when the lot was a part of the school everybody used to park there. Now you see how there are less cars in the lot, and now everywhere else on campus is congested.”
In a statement, UNCP suggested that students use parking lots 8, 8b and 23 to avoid any issues with the new rules for Lots 1 & 2.
You can go to uncp.edu/parking for help navigating on campus parking.