University of Nevada, Reno Parking Services Department has long been a cause for complaint among students, faculty and members of the community alike. We understand the need to enforce parking at times of high capacity, but Parking Services is currently ticketing University students and employees in the midst of a pandemic when the vast majority of campus is closed. Not only this, but they are planning to increase parking prices on July 1st, with campus still closed for the foreseeable future and while all parking facilities are significantly under capacity.

When talking to members of the University community about what they would change about their experience at UNR, parking is often brought up as a primary concern. Despite continued complaints from students and faculty, Parking Services continues to operate with little to no regard for students' concerns despite current events.  Most of the people getting ticketed right now are University faculty and student workers who are voluntarily risking their safety, and the safety of their loved ones, to come to work and serve the student population. These students and faculty who are already economically struggling, are being forced to either buy expensive parking permits, pay for high rates for hourly parking, or face fines, all while the parking garages are more than 85% empty at any point in time. 

Our specific requests are as follows: Parking services should stop enforcing parking during which time the campus is at significantly reduced capacity. There is not enough students, staff, or vendors on campus to fill every parking space, and there is therefore no need to cite members of the community simply for the sake of meeting their quotas. Parking Services should serve the University community - not prey on it.

In addition, we request that Parking Services not move forward with its plan to increase the price of parking permits and hourly parking rates at least through the end of the of 2020. It is uncertain if classes will be on campus in the Fall, and, even if they are, it will certainly be at a reduced level to a normal semester. There is therefore no justification for raising prices on struggling students during an economic recession when there will be less students on campus in the fall. 

This request is addressed to the Director of Parking Services, Michelle Horton, and President Marc Johnson. In addition to signing this petition, please feel free to express your concerns to parking_services@unr.edu or mhorton@unr.edu. You can also call parking services to respectfully request change at 775-784-4654.