MRU students say parking situation hasn't improved after 2 semesters of tougher rules

Nearly two semesters into Mount Royal University's enhanced parking measures — including an onsite impound lot — some students at the school say issues of affordability and access to on-campus parking remain.

In August 2024, the post-secondary introduced towing to an on-campus impound lot. The tow site takes up 20 parking spaces in a southwest campus lot. Students can be towed if they rack up two or more tickets that remain unpaid for more than 30 days.

Prior to towing onsite, students ran the risk of being towed to the city's impound lot.

The school has also added fees for pulling through or backing into parking spaces. That's because MRU now uses vehicle-mounted licence plate recognition technology to ticket people. 

Second-year nursing student Sage Wellspring says her vehicle was towed in January. 

Wellspring pays for a parking pass at a church near campus, but she says some days when she's running short on time, she rolls the dice and parks without paying in the permitted lot.

"Honestly, it's a little bit of a protesting thing almost. I think that they charge too much and I already give them all my money anyways," she said.

"I didn't really have issues before they started changing their parking. They started really cracking down on it."

It cost her about $450 to get her vehicle back. That included Mount Royal's $200 towing fee plus an impound storage fee of $15 a day. And students must settle up the remainder of their outstanding tickets to get their car back.

"I had to put it on my credit card because I'm a student, right? I don't really have a lot of extra money. So, like, I'm not working right now. I'm in school, so it just it adds even more stress," said Wellspring.

Fourth-year Mount Royal student Gurkaran Dhaliwal is frustrated by the added cost of parking, too.

"We pay for so many other services with MRU which we don't use at all, like for the transit … so the services that I use, why do I have to pay extra for that?"

Others like Emil Duguay opt to park off campus in a nearby neighbourhood rather than pay for a pass or a daily fee ranging from $7 to $19 a day.

"Parking for a year is like $1,000, and, I dunno, I just feel like that's way too expensive — and also you're not ever guaranteed a spot because usually the parking lot is pretty full by the time you get here," he said.

A parking pass at the University of Calgary can range between $240 and $620 a semester plus GST. At Mount Royal semester permits cost between $420 and $620. 

The school is not the only one in the city with its own tow lot; the University of Calgary has had one for years.

Issues of congestion, fee dodging

In an emailed statement, a representative for Mount Royal University said administration is "aware of concerns around parking on campus."

The spokesperson said the changes were made "to alleviate congestion on campus, add to parking space availability and meet the needs of those who pay for parking."

The changes help make up for "missing revenues" from unpaid parking violations, with the revenues from parking going toward infrastructure repairs and university programming. 

The representative would not say how much towing has increased since the changes, or if there are measurable indicators that show the situation has improved.

According to provincial rules, student tuition and grants cannot be used to subsidize parking operations, so the school must create a system that is self-sustaining.

According to a university count last November, 15,782 students attend full- or part-time, but there are only 4,300 paid parking spots on campus. 

That doesn't account for others accessing the southwest Calgary school, like faculty, or visitors who utilize on-campus services such as the recreation facilities and the child-care centre.

Students feeling the pinch

The Students' Association of Mount Royal University says accessing parking is an ongoing issue for students. Prior to these changes, the association often fielded complaints from students who had paid for parking passes but could not find a spot. 

Tala Abu Hayyaneh, the president of the students' association, says they try to work with students who have tickets stacking up.

"What we've worked with MRU and students is finding solutions, whether it's students approaching the MRU parking transportation office and finding a payment plan or just a solution in terms of being able to alleviate that burden on them."

She says the majority of student complaints are about the rising cost of being a student, including a two per cent average increase across all programs and increases on other mandatory fees. 

"You know, students already have a lot of things to stress about. You know, whether it's tuition, whether it's the cost of living right now. So adding that additional burden on them has been really tough," she said.

"We've been hearing a lot of their complaints and taking that into consideration in terms of advocacy."