Classes resume at UCCS next Monday. We prepare you for the parking and traffic impacts there
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Students, staff, and visitors have a week remaining before the new semester begins at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (UCCS).
That means planning to ensure that parking is as convenient as possible.
But many wonder whether enough parking spaces are available for approximately 11,000 students—all of whom, except for at least 1,000, live on campus.
“One common misconception here is that there’s not enough parking at UCCS,” said Matt Beckwith, associate parking director for UCCS. “And really, across the campus, we have more than enough parking spaces. It’s a matter of those that are convenient and right next to your building. And those are the parking spaces in the highest demand.”
The most coveted parking is in front of the El Pomar Center, on what’s called the Central Campus, where most of the resources are.
A parking pass for that area is $250 per semester, and the waiting list for those spaces can be as long as 800 students.
However, other options include two parking garages and even free parking, depending on how far from Central Campus drivers are willing to park.
And for students parking farther away, shuttle buses are available to shorten walking times to and from class.
Beckwith said that traffic congestion on and off busy Austin Bluffs Parkway usually doesn’t last long — primarily because most of the activity happens at the top of each hour during the day — when some classes end, and others begin.
“It’s not ideal to have some traffic backing up, but it’s not creating any sort of safety issues,” he said. But there’s some congestion. It takes a little longer to find a parking space.”
Beckwith added that unlike grade schools, where students remain on campus all day, college students—particularly at UCCS—may spend no more than a few hours on campus.
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