For about 20 years the parking fees at SMU remained the same. Before last year, it cost $80 per year to park on campus. The price of parking was then raised by nearly 100 percent for the 2001-2002 academic year. Starting next semester, the price of parking will once again be increased by $50.

“It is not easy raising rates and we don’t do it lightly. We felt that we needed to be doing more in the areas of safety and maintenance,” Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Business Services Bill Detwiler said.

Last year, the price to park on campus was raised to $150. The increase was due to a demand for safety and renovations.

The money raised from the first increase was used toward lighting Moody garage, resurfacing three parking lots and installing surveillance cameras at garage entrances. These surveillance cameras record 24 hours a day and tape all cars going in and out of the garage.

A parking sticker will now cost $200 per year. The $50 increase will add approximately $750,000 a year to the budget.

“We felt there was a need for more routine maintenance of the garages. We have found that with less graffiti in the garage there is less crime,” Detwiler said.

However, since the initial increase, some students have seen little to no changes.

“I haven’t seen all of the results that they promised at the first increase and now they are upping the price again,” Student Senate Chief of Staff Heidi Kuglin said.

The money from the first increase is also helping to pay for the consulting firm DeShazo, Tang & Associates, Inc. – a company that analyzes SMU’s traffic circulation and parking management. DeSashazo, Tang will make traffic and parking recommendations to SMU and by mid-May they should be finalized, Detwiler said.

On April 1, the SMU student body learned – through a bulk e-mail – that the price of parking was increasing again.

While student senators knew that the price of parking would continue to rise, they believed it would occur in gradual increments of $20 or $25 per year.

“Senate was promised that it would be a gradual change. Why is it $50 all at once instead of $50 over two or three years,” Kuglin questioned.

Many students, including student senators, were angry that no one was informed about the more abrupt increase.

“I was frustrated with the lack of communication throughout this … they blindsided us. I had no idea there would be a parking increase to this degree,” Student Body President Jodi Warmbrod said.

Katie Krenz, a junior business major, never received the bulk e-mail that was sent out.

“A letter should have been sent to everyone, especially to SMU post office boxes, which told students about this increase. They do it for tuition, so they should have done it for this too,” Krenz said.

Still, some students were not shocked by the rate increase.

“This increase doesn’t surprise me at all because SMU does this kind of stuff all of the time,” said Afton Smith, junior corporate communications major.

Although students complain about the lack of parking and the increasing rates, the parking lots on campus are never completely full. DeSashazo Tang revealed that even during peak hours, 17 percent to 22 percent of SMU parking spaces are vacant.

“People just want convenience. They want to be as close to where they are going as possible,” Detwiler said.

This newest increase will allow SMU to focus on security and safety and will also help pay for the approved recommendations for parking and traffic.

After the increase, it will cost $1 a day to park on campus, Detwiler said. SMU has some of the lowest parking prices compared to other schools, he said.

However, SMU does have higher parking rates than other Texas schools. According to Baylor University’s website, the parking fees for an entire school year are $175. Parking at TCU costs $90 for both fall and spring terms, Sgt. J.C. Drake of the TCU police department said.

“I think students feel that everything is being raised on them. Coming to SMU is more than just the sticker price, and students don’t realize this when they are coming in. It is not just the price of tuition,” Kuglin said.

SMU officials have no intention of continuing to raise the price of parking.

“We have no mindset to increase this rate any time soon. I hope that the money we raise will be enough,” Detwiler said.