Only 28 students are currently using the University's new off-campus student parking lot - down from as many as 250 students using on-campus parking last year.
The students are parking in the lots at Providence Piers, about two miles from the center of campus, said Elizabeth Gentry, assistant vice president of financial and administrative services. The Herald reported in April that the lot has 250 spots.
So few students are parked in the off-campus lot that, while campus parking is still crunched, the University is considering returning the 28 spots to campus, Gentry said.
"With what we're expending to run security and the shuttle, we can better use funds in other ways," Gentry said.
As recently as 2005, Brown was allocating as many as 500 on-campus spots to undergraduates, according to a January 2005 Herald article. It later reduced the number of available spots to 250 and then announced last semester it would move student parking off campus entirely.
The cost of parking in the lot is $600 per year, and the spaces are available through a lottery in April for juniors and seniors. The lot is lighted, fenced and available by safeRIDE 24 hours a day. A few students with disabilities still have parking spots on College Hill.
Given that many students can rent parking spots on College Hill from local property owners and no current data on student parking habits are available, Gentry said the University would like to survey students to better understand their parking decisions.
"A survey could help us get a better handle on the overall picture of what transportation options people are using and to get the information we need to make improvements and make the overall system more beneficial for users," said Marisa Quinn, vice president of public affairs and University relations.
The University has been under pressure from the city of Providence for several years to reduce the need for parking on College Hill, which was one reason it decided last semester to move student spaces off campus.
New construction will absorb more parking spots. The construction in front of the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center will eliminate enough parking spots that the University would be out of compliance with city law if it didn't replace them, according to a Feb. 13 Herald article.
At the same time, the University has been making alternatives available for students without cars.
Students can use Rhode Island Public Transit Authority buses or trolleys free of charge, thanks to a program started last year. Brown also partners with Zipcar, an auto-sharing program through which students can rent cars that are stationed in the Power Street parking garage.
Students can also choose not to use Brown's parking facilities and make arrangements for their own parking off campus.
Claudia Davidson '11 keeps a car off campus and said she wouldn't use campus parking. "It's not convenient at all. The lots are far, and it defeats the purpose of having a car."
Jon Bogard '09 lives off campus and keeps a car at his residence. "It has been quite handy having a car on campus," he said.
But "if parking in the Providence Pier Brown lot were to have been my only option, I likely would not have brought my car here," Bogard added.
Bogard said he'd prefer to see money spent on a student parking lot allocated to more financial aid. "The benefit of having a car on campus is one enjoyed only by the owner of the car."
Students also said they are considering environmental and practical factors.
"I think that (the shuttle ride downtown) would deter me from bringing a car, but I don't feel like I'd need a car on campus anyway," Emily Viggiano '12 said. "Maybe it's a good thing because the shuttle ride would encourage people to use public transportation, which would help the environment."
