Pay for a garage space:

Fifty-nine percent of students and 24% of faculty and staff indicated that they were willing to pay more for a guaranteed space in a garage in the middle of campus. The letter from Chief Deter that was sent with the survey defined the location between Chilton Hall and the PE Building.

Students' willingness to pay for a garage space was not related to their current parking situation or their current living location. Fifty-nine percent of students living in residence halls were willing to pay more for a garage parking space. Master's students (31%) were the least likely to pay more for a garage parking space. Students reporting an income between $15,000 to $24,999 (65%) were the most likely to pay more for a garage space. All others were equally distributed among the different income levels listed.

Comments made by students provided insight into why some students would be willing to pay more--they would be guaranteed a space. Numerous student comments noted their frustrations with buying a permit, but not finding a space. Some said they had to resort to paying to park at meters or in the garage. This double payment appears to be a source of dissatisfaction with parking at UNT for students. How much students are willing to pay to park in the garage is discussed below.

Comments from faculty and staff point out reasons why a low percentage of faculty and staff would pay more to park in a garage. Many said that they thought the cost of parking was already too high, especially in light of their low salaries and the lack of other rewards for hard work at UNT. Some also noted that the location of the new garage would be too far from their office and classrooms. The distance would be furthest to Mathews and Wooten Halls, which house many offices and classrooms.

Amount to be paid for a "Guaranteed" garage space:

When asked how much students were willing to pay for a guaranteed space in a parking garage, the higher the cost the less willing students were to pay. After $200 a semester and $350 a year the number willing to pay more declined dramatically. Forty-one percent said they would not pay at any price to park in the garage. The table below shows the percentages of the students who responded to the question regarding a guaranteed space. (Note: The number in the far left column is the number who responded to each payment option. All other numbers are the percentages of that population.)