by Robert Schoenberger
Daily Cougar Senior StaffHow can you fit 993 cars into 946 spaces? Ask the University of Houston students who parked in Lot 16B on Friday, Feb. 23, between 11 a.m. and noon.
Lot 16B, at Elgin and Cullen boulevards, takes the title of most overcrowded parking lot from the fall semester's co-winners, Lots 15D and 15E near Robertson Stadium.
The lots near Robertson Stadium dropped to a mere 1,781 cars in its 1,840 spaces during the Spring `96 Survey of Student Lot Occupancies vs. Capacities. On Sept. 29, 1995, it set the record at 64 cars over the limit with 1,904 cars in 1,840 spaces.
Some of the congestion drop in the stadium lots came from the inclusion of half of Lot 15F as student parking. Lot 15F, between Robertson Stadium and McElhinney Hall, is half student and half faculty/staff. In previous surveys, the entire lot was counted as faculty/staff.
The overcrowding in the lots near Elgin and Cullen boulevards was expected by Parking and Transportation Supervisor Ritchie Brown. Lot 16B lost 250 spaces last semester to make room for the faculty lot that was demolished to build the new Moores School of Music Building.
"Everything we saw from this survey was about what we had last year, except for the lots we expected to have trouble with," Brown said. "We may have to build more parking if people refuse to use shuttle buses."
The shuttle buses, Brown referred to, run to and from the outlying parking lots near Wheeler Street and Cullen Boulevard and next to the UH Police Department on the far side of the stadium.
Only 616 cars parked in outlying Lot 9A and Lot 9C's 1,190 spaces at its most crowded time between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 19.
Lot 12A, next to UH Police Department, had its busiest moments on Thursday, Feb. 22, when 752 cars parked in its 1,009 spaces.
"I would suggest to students to park (in Lot 12A)," Brown said. "It's safer there."
The most crowded lots are on the North side of campus. Lots 16B and 16D contain a total of 1,435 spaces. On Feb. 22, the busiest day of the survey, 1,453 cars parked there between 11 a.m. and noon. At the same time, adjacent Lot 18A, in front of the Band Annex, saw 571 cars parked in its 553 spaces.
The failure of students to use outlying parking forces the overcrowding in the North-side lots, Brown said. "We can't really justify building more parking if we still have only 50 percent occupancy in the outlying lots."
Some students now park along a public street between the Wendy's and Lot 16D on Cullen Boulevard. Brown warned that they may see parking meters there in the near future. He added that Houston officials have already threatened to meter the street, but currently it is not clear who owns it.
The East side of campus, which includes Lot 1A in front of Moody Towers; 20A, 20B and 21 A on Calhoun Road near Entrance 1; and Lots 19A and 19B near Melcher Hall, saw congestion drop to 85.3 percent of its capacity between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Feb. 22. On Sept. 29, 1995, the East side saw 91.5 percent of its spaces full.
Overcrowding in all lots, except those on the North side of campus, has dropped significantly.This news is good for people who park on the East and West sides of campus, as well as the users of outlying parking.