City parking meters on streets around campus will give commuter students more space to park, Student Government Association senators said.
The Muncie City Council voted Monday night to put meters on Riverside Avenue by Christy Woods, University Avenue from the Administration building to Tillotson Avenue and on New York and Neely avenues by the Studebaker Complex. The streets are still free to park on with no time limits. The city will enforce the meters, however, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.
Mayor Dan Canan said that the meters would cost 25 cents an hour with a maximum time limit of four hours.
Sen. Katie Carlson said that she felt the meters would benefit students.
Because Riverside Avenue has no parking restrictions, anyone can park on the street all day without moving his car.
"The meters will keep people from doing this and allow more students to park on the street throughout the day," she said. "It has been abused in the past."
Canan said that part of the purpose of the parking meters was to benefit commuter students by creating more turn over of spots.
Steve Geraci, SGA president pro tempore, also said that he favored the meters.
"It's going to create more roll-over in those spots," Geraci said.
"Though students will have to pay the meter, the street parking would still be more cost effective than university parking," said Carlson.
Geraci said that the meters would have downsides because the parking would no longer be free, but that the positives still outweighed the negatives.
"On the upside, one person can't park there at 7 a.m. and stay there all day," said Geraci.
Carlson said that a group of students attended the city council meeting. She was pleased because the council asked for student input.
"The city council really had students in mind," Carlson said.
Geraci also said that he thought the meters would improve relations between the city and students.
"The city will start implementing the meters over the next few months," Canan said.
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