Parking, too, tells story about UND’s momentum
Here’s how Parking Services is working to accommodate near-record enrollment, University’s COO explains
Editor’s note: As UND President Andy Armacost announced in his State of the University Address on Thursday, the word for the upcoming academic year is “Momentum.” And ironically, one of the clearest signs of the University’s speeded-up forward motion is the striking increase in vehicles on campus that are standing perfectly still.
In other words, parking.
Parking is a perennial issue on American college campuses, and UND is no exception. But this year, the issue is compounded by the University’s higher enrollment, especially of freshmen students living on campus and the University’s desire to provide ample safe and secure parking spaces that are close to residence halls.
In his most recent video message to campus, Armacost describes the enrollment increase and the overall approach toward it that the University is taking.
“We have an exceptional number of people on our campus this fall,” Armacost says in the video.
“Enrollments are at near all-time highs. We welcome hundreds of additional students to the campus this year, and we’re so thrilled to have you with us here at UND.
“The challenge, of course, is with all of the additional people on campus, things are going to be a little busier and a little crazier,” Armacost continues. “But the good news is this: we have such an amazing team on our campus that we will make sure that the needs of all of our students, our faculty and our staff members are taken care of.
“And what I ask also for is a sense of grace – that when things are a little bit busier, we might have to look to one another to support one another to help us through some challenging times.
“So by all means, work with each other, and let’s keep that great positive UND attitude going throughout the fall semester, and let’s welcome all of these new students to our campus with great applause and great gusto.”
The parking effort described below “is just one of the many ways that our campus is responding to this influx of additional students,” the president says in the video.
Below is the letter that Karla Mongeon-Stewart, UND’s COO and vice president for Finance and Operations, sent out to UND faculty and staff in early August. UND Today is reprinting it today to help make sure everyone on campus knows about the parking lots’ rezoning, the new campus shuttle, the Parking Ramp polices and the reasons behind the changes.
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Aug. 2, 2024
Greetings Faculty and Staff.
UND is growing! With significant increases in freshman enrollment and exceptional retention rates at UND, select lots have been “re-zoned” to allow different permits for the Academic year of 2024-25. This rezoning is necessary to ensure that all freshman students required to live on campus have access to parking close to their residence hall with 24-hour access. Unfortunately, these temporary zone changes will have an impact on our faculty and staff parking during the academic year. These changes are in place for FY 2024-25 only as UND will be building a residence hall lot that will serve 500 cars on the corner of University Avenue and Stanford Road. This project is scheduled for completion in summer 2025.
Temporary Changes
- Chester Fritz Auditorium lot: Increase number of spaces for students living in residence halls north of University Avenue and in Johnstone/Smith halls.
- Gustafson, Burtness and Hyslop lots: Converting from “A” to “A/S” commuter lots to accommodate commuter students who historically parked in the Chester Fritz Auditorium lot
- Strinden Road: Converting from Passport parking to “A/S.” to accommodate faculty and staff who previously parked in the Chester Fritz Auditorium lot
- Facilities lot: Converting north row from “A/S” to Residence Hall parking, and middle row will be dual use “A/S/Residence”, to further accommodate more residential students
- Greek zones: Converting from “A/S” to Greek in the small lot west of Oxford Street to centralize Greek parking
UND will also be offering a new 15-passenger shuttle service for permit holders with “A” or “S” permits to take a continuous shuttle from the 10th Avenue strip mall area (in front of Jimmy John’s) to behind the Memorial Union. Visit the Campus Shuttle webpage for more shuttle route information.
Permanent Changes
- Parking Ramp: All levels will be mixed use by ramp permit holders and hourly pay-to-park parking. Exception: The first floor (west side entrance off University Avenue) will remain as hourly parking/special reserved permit parking. This change eliminates significant confusion for our guests when using the ramp.
These changes will be covered in a post on the Parking Updates blog and on the UND Parking Services website, including social media such as Facebook and Instagram. Please follow these channels for regular updates on important parking information.
Though we are extremely excited to welcome so many new students on campus, we do understand the inconvenience this may pose for our faculty and staff. We are asking for grace and patience as we work through these parking challenges and are grateful that we will have a new residence hall parking lot constructed by Fall 2025.
For any questions or concerns, please contact UND Parking Services using the information below.
UND Parking Services
parking@UND.edu
701.777.3551
M-F: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
3791 Campus Road, Room 100
Sincerely,
Karla Mongeon-Stewart
Vice President for Finance and Operations/COO
701-777-3511
