New parking rates are too high

The new parking fees and absence of the semester parking pass are outrageous. (Kwantlen hikes student parking rates, Aug. 21.)

Considering parking fees and the implementation of the mandatory MultiPass, education at Kwantlen is rapidly becoming unaffordable. As a student who commutes to the Langley campus from the Tri-Cities area, public transit is not a viable option for me.

What is my point? Why were the parking fees raised 179 per cent over the summer? Why were the students not consulted before such a dramatic price increase or the discontinuation of semester and hourly parking passes? Why are semester passes valid for multiple vehicles for $120 still available for faculty?

The university states that Kwantlen’s parking prices are quite low compared to other local universities. I strongly disagree. I did the research and the only university with higher semester parking fees than Kwantlen is UBC. The cost for a semester parking pass at SFU, Capilano and Douglas is less than half the cost of Kwantlen’s.

Not only have the fees significantly increased, but our options have decreased. We can no longer pay for a partial day of parking and we are unable to use more than one car with the weekly permits. Being limited to one license plate per weekly permit excludes students who carpool and students whose families share multiple vehicles.

I was advised by Impark that in the event of an emergency that required me to drive a different car, I would have to purchase a day pass for $5 or I would be risking a ticket. What can we students do to voice our concerns over the new much higher parking fees?

Tiffany Willis, Horticulture student