New Parking Policy for Students
UMass Lowell continues to grow in size and reputation, and managing parking inventory is essential in maintaining a fair and equitable manner is critical.
The University's Parking Committee, comprised of representatives from a cross-section of campus, carefully considered and adopted a number of policy change recommendations for the 2012-2013 academic year.
Summary of Policy Changes
The Executive Cabinet has approved the following policy changes, effective Aug. 27, 2012:
- With the exciting completion of the North Campus Garage, upperclass commuters will have access to the bottom two and one-half levels of the garage as well as the surface lot, including the existing faculty/staff section. This change will provide a net gain of 557 upperclass commuter student parking spaces on North Campus.
- All vehicular access to the Riverside surface lot and the North Campus Garage will be from a newly designed entrance on Sparks Street.
- To accommodate the construction of the new South Campus Garage, the Lower Mahoney Lot and portions of the Broadway/Riverview Lot will not be available for parking. Due to the temporary decrease in the student parking inventory on South Campus, the Broadway/Riverview Lot will be allocated for upperclass commuters only.
- South resident student parking will be moved for the 2012/13 academic year from the Riverview Lot to the South Overflow Lot (behind the softball field). This lot will be reserved exclusively for Concordia and Sheehy resident students. Additional lighting will be added to the South Overflow Lot for safety.
- The University will be leasing 52 spaces from Sheehy Park, the city lot on the corner of Pawtucket and Wilder. These spaces will be available for faculty, staff and upperclass commuter students and should offset the loss of Lower Mahoney. Please be careful not to park in any spaces marked recreational use only, these spaces have been set aside for Lowell residents using the park.
- Freshmen commuter students will continue to be required to park at 1001 Pawtucket Blvd until the completion of the South Campus Garage. The lot offers more than enough spaces to accommodate commuter freshmen parking. The lot will be serviced by four full-size buses, two for North Campus and two for South Campus. Buses will run between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays, excluding holidays. After 3:30 p.m., freshmen commuters may park in the commuter student lots on both North and South campuses. Eligibility for this parking will be determined by student status as recognized by the Registrar's Office. Freshmen are those students with up to 23 credits completed.
- Please go to Parking Locations for a complete listing and maps of parking facilities.
- Please review the transportation services hours of operation and service lines at www.uml.edu/transportation.
Carpooling: A New Green Initiative
- Additionlly, the University is proud to announce a new carpooling program that seeks to reduce the number of vehicles on campus and, as a result, our carbon footprint:
- A number of signed carpool spaces will be located in the Riverside Surface Lot on North and the Broadway/Riverview Lot on South.
- Carpool groups of two or more people can register at the UCAPS Office and receive a single carpool permit that will be used to open the parking gates and park in designated carpool spaces. If all carpool spaces are taken, the hang tag will permit parking in non-designated spaces in upperclass commuter lots.
- The price of the carpool permit will be proportional to the full cost of a decal. For example, if a group of two register into the program, each person will only pay half of the cost of a decal.
- Carpool options are only available to commuter students.
Parking Rates
Parking Rates for the 2012-2013 academic year are as follows:
- Commuter Students - $200 per year
- Resident Students - $250 per year
- Continuing Education Students - Included in operating fees
Parking revenue will help fund current and future parking needs for UMass Lowell, which continues to move forward in scope and vision. Our urban campus setting poses some unique challenges, including parking. The University does not receive state funds for parking, but is in the process of building two parking garages scheduled to open in 2012 and 2013.
Useful Information
Many other resources about 2012-2013 parking can be found on our website and linked below:
Any questions regarding the new policy can be directed to our office at UCAPS@uml.edu.