Returning students due to begin classes next Monday September 7th may be in for a surprise with the introduction of paid parking permits for both students and staff on campus. The charges, which were first communicated among eight other topics by email from UCD Registry on July 17th are set at €50 for the academic year. The email notice has been supplemented by the erection of signs in campus car parks detailing the nature of the charges as pictured above. Further details can be found on the website of UCD Estate Services.
In addition to the permit system in place for the UCD community, an hourly rate of €1 per hour for standard spaces and €5 per hour for premium spaces will apply to visitors to the campus. Standard space charges are to be capped at €3 per day. These spaces are to be managed on the universities behalf by NCPS, which despite managing some 65,000 car parking spaces at over 850 sites across the country recorded a loss of over €200,000 in 2013.
The number of car-parking spaces permitted on campus by the NTA and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council is currently capped at 3,000. Despite long-standing plans for the development of underground and multi-storey car parking on campus little has yet taken place in the way of development.
For more see the first print edition of the College Tribune, on campus September 15th.
Sean O’Reilly, Editor
