Students who need to purchase a spring parking permit may do so online or at Parking Services tomorrow beginning at 8 a.m. Permits are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis and lot eligibility is determined by class standing.

Parking Services is now using a completely automated system to sell parking passes online, manager Randy Ristow said. Students used to be able to apply online, but it was just an application that was printed out and processed by the staff at Parking Services, he said.

Ristow said the passes may sell very quickly because many people can be on the Web site at the same time.

“It’s a new system and we wanted to try it in the spring when it would be less intense than the fall semester,” he said. “I expect we’ll get a lot of Web site hits starting at 8 a.m. tomorrow,” he said.

The following commuter permits are available: C (1,000); C-Science (150); C-Ice Arena (100); R1 (25); R2 (15); R5 (20); R12 (30); Summit East (300); Allerton Sports (200); and Evening/Weekend (800).

The following residence hall permits are available: S37 (75); S38 (20); S39 (15); C-Science/Res (50); and Stadium (400).

The cost for spring semesters varies. All S, C and R permits are $75, with the exception of C-Ice Arena and C-Science permits, which are $65. Summit East permits are $55, and Stadium permits are $35. Evening/Weekend-only permits are $25.

Larry Emling, assistant manager of Parking Services, said the old online system allowed students to fill in information and select the permit they wanted, but the new system is different.

“You’ll have to log in with your Flashline ID and the system will tell you what permits you are eligible for,” he said. “Then when you submit the form, you have purchased the permit electronically.”

Ristow said, based on history, parking lots will not be as crowded in the spring because student population is usually less than it was the previous fall.

“We don’t have as many available permits to sell for spring as we do for fall because the majority of the permits purchased in fall were bought for both fall and spring,” he said. “It’s those that were only bought for fall that we can now issue out again for spring.”

Ristow also said because the new system actually sells permits, they will have to keep a separate stack at the front desk to sell to walk-ins to avoid selling the same permit twice.

Emling said students often get frustrated if and when they don’t get the permits they desire. He encourages these students to check the Web site every Tuesday afternoon to see which permits will go on sale the following Wednesday. Students who do not get a pass or are unhappy with the one they receive may buy or exchange their spring permits beginning Jan. 25.

Parking Services is located at room 123 Michael Schwartz Center. Those who need a spring permit may go in person or visit www.finance.kent.edu/parking.

Contact transportation reporter David Carr at [email protected].