Parking pressures mount on campus
Published: 30 January 2014
The issuing of new parking permits for the Gilmorehill Campus is to be to be suspended for the time being. The start of the major infrastructure project to provide a district heating scheme is likely to increase pressure on the University’s parking system over the months ahead, according to Central Services.
The start of the major infrastructure project to bring a district heating scheme to the Gilmorehill campus is likely to increase pressure on the University’s parking system over the months ahead, according to Central Services.
As we reported in Campus E News on 6 January, the Combined Heat and Power project will see the installation of five temporary steam boilers, housed in large shipping containers, at key sites around the Gilmorehill site. They are being deployed to keep heat and power supplies running in the University buildings while the old steam network is replaced. The project is expected to take about two years.
At the moment there are 1,300 parking permit holders. The permits cost £200 per year. There are 750 parking spaces available on the Gilmorehill Campus in total; about 400 of them in the immediate area of the Main Building. It is expected that more than 50 of the existing parking spaces will be lost to accommodate the temporary boilers.
Unfortunately the essential CHP works mean the parking scheme will be heavily over-subscribed in terms of available parking spaces. In addition, the waiting time for permit applicants has become unreasonable with applicants currently on a list for up to 5 years; this is only likely to increase.
As a result, the waiting list for the University’s parking permits is being suspended: it currently has nearly 200 staff and students in the queue. No further applications will be accepted until further notice. The current list will remain in place with no requirement for those on the list to re apply. Any new applications for a permit submitted will be returned to the applicant with an explanation until the list re opens.
The Security team who administer the scheme say permits are handed back every year as the holders either leave the University or take up other means of commuting to work. For the time being, these permits will not be re-issued. It is hoped that by the end of 2014, the number of permit holders and the parking spaces available will come back into balance.
Secretary of Court, David Newall, said: “It is imperative that we bring the number of permits and available spaces back into some sort of balance AND that we don’t keep people on a waiting list with no real expectation of being able to help them.
“As ever, our priorities will be to keep people safe on Campus and to ensure essential traffic, such as the SRC mini-buses and delivery vans, is able to keep circulating. We have a particular responsibility to do all we can to help people with disabilities to get to work and lectures. We will make sure they are not adversely affected by the limitations on the parking system.
“Sadly, the start of the heating infrastructure project has brought this problem into sharp focus. We cannot delay in replacing our current, ancient heating network which is prone to breakdown and leaks. And we have to keep people warm and the lights on while we make the changeover. Once in operation, the Combined Heat and Power system will address the heating problems we have experienced in recent winters, will reduce our carbon emissions and will save money that can be better spent elsewhere.
“In due course, the University will be taking over the Western Infirmary site next door to us, and that is going to offer some scope for once again increasing the amount of parking available to staff and students who are dependent on a car. We are also active in trying to identify additional parking that may be available from other providers in the West End.
“I am sorry about the inconvenience that will be caused while these works are in progress, and would ask for patience and forbearance from all staff and students while we take these steps to maintain a fair and practical parking system on the Gilmorehill Campus. If you currently have a parking permit, and are not using it regularly, I urge you to hand it back. The University will refund the balance of the remaining part of the year.”
If you want to comment on the changes, or seek advice, email: communications@glasgow.ac.uk
First published: 30 January 2014
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