Parking Structure Three construction:
Parking at Portland State University should be easier this fall with the reopening of Parking Structure Three. The construction project, which required the temporary closure of the structure, has added two new levels and a total of 348 new parking spaces.
The parking structure, located between 12th and 13th avenues on Montgomery Street, was closed during summer term, but is expected to open in time for fall term.
Construction will continue through October, but 1,060 of the total 1,160 parking spaces should be available to students according to Dan Zalkow, PSU parking manager.
“The elevator won’t be ready,” Zalkow said. “They’ll still be doing landscaping. They’ll still be doing some internal painting, and some other minor tasks. And that was all anticipated. We knew they’d still be working until October.”
Construction should be finalized by Oct. 31.
“We’re all hoping it’s going to be better, but we still have at least ten times as many students as we have parking spaces,” Mira Abellera, a cashier at the Parking and Transportation Information Center, said of the parking situation at PSU.
Parking permits:
A wide variety of parking permits are still available, “We have open permit sales, on a first-come, first-serve basis until we run out of parking permits,” Abellera said.
New this year is the ability for students to register for parking permits online. Online permit registration occurs about a month before the term starts. Online permit registration for fall term was available from Aug. 20-29.
Those interested in online permit registration are encouraged to check the Transportation and Parking Office Web site at www.bao.pdx.edu/parking.htm for an updated schedule.
The Parking Office site is also the easiest way to browse the various types of parking permits offered. Permits depend upon student course load and the time of classes. Those students whose eligibility changes during the term may be required to forfeit their parking permits.
Students can still obtain a permit from either parking office location. One is located on the first floor of Neuberger Hall, the other in the Urban Center.
“It’s still early enough that we have a lot of permits,” Abellera said.
The busiest time for permit sales is the week before classes start and the first week of the quarter.
Also new this year is an academic year parking pass for the Ondine and West Hall parking lots. Previously parking permits were only offered to residents of the two buildings on a per-term basis.
Alternative Transportation:
In addition to the new parking places and permits, the parking office is working to provide students with alternative transportation.
Flexcar, a car rental system for those students who need a car only occasionally, has discounted their usual startup fee from $25 to $15 for PSU students, as well as offering a $35 credit as a promotional offer.
Monthly Tri-Met passes are available to students at discounted rates. An all-zone pass is $40 instead of the usual $56.
New this year are one- and two-zone passes. Monthly Passes are available the 20th of the previous month, and sales continue a week and a half into the month for which the pass is good. Three month discounted passes will no longer be available.
The one- and two-zone passes are subsidized by PSU alone, whereas the all-zone pass is subsidized by Tri-Met as well, and are intended to test the demand for shorter-range passes.
Tri-Met combined passes are usable on all Tri-Met services including Buses, the Max or the Portland Streetcar.
For students who would prefer to bike to PSU, there are two bike lockers, one between the Blackstone and the Miller Library, and one in the carpool lot between Fifth and Fourth avenues at Montgomery.
A bike co-op may be in the works as well; this would be a resource that would aid in minor repairs and bicycle-related services. At this point the bike co-op is just an idea. “We would support [the bike co-op] if it were to happen,” Zalkow said.