As time goes on and campus changes, new buildings are created, but there is a cost to this refinement: land.
The construction of the new computer science building on the north side of campus has removed one of the ‘A’ parking lots next to Monroe Ave.
“When parking is displaced by construction projects supporting the mission of the university, parking spaces are replaced based on our division’s parking replacement policy,” said Sarah Hamilton, an outreach coordinator for transportation services at Oregon State University.
Any project that removes parking lots from the OSU campus must pay for a replacement lot, according to the Campus Facilities and Grounds Manual on the OSU Financial and Administration website.
“Available land for construction on campus is limited, and we have worked with University Land Use Planning to identify future sites for parking facilities through the OSU Corvallis Campus Vision.” Hamilton said.
The Corvallis Campus Vision is a planning document to help maintain the focus on what’s important to the members of OSU.
According to Hamilton, in a recent parking occupancy study, there are still parking spaces in the south parking lots at peak usage, and that displacement of spaces will change the distribution of demand for other methods of transportation.
In a 2022-2023 parking utilization study, 5,164 of the 6,968 parking spots for general use and residence on campus were occupied at the time of the study.
“I also recommend looking into the free transit services that drop off and pick up on campus or using ‘Get There’ to connect with carpool or vanpool options. For employees coming from Albany, for example, the Linn Benton Loop is a free and frequent commuter service that drops off directly on campus,” Hamilton said.
‘Get There’ is a website that allows students to connect with each other in order to carpool to the university. OSU also supports carpooling through carpooling-specific parking spots.
“To reduce stress arriving on a busy campus, I recommend looking at the parking map before starting your trip to identify an alternate lot, which might not be right next to your building, to use if your preferred lot is full,” Hamilton said.
