CHRONICLE Behind the hall theatrics PAGE 16-17
the nanyang
march
Weekend getaways
15 , 2010 | V ol 16 no 9 | is sn no 0 218 -7310 | W W w. n t u. edu. s g / c hronic l e
Handball goes professional
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Summer dusk
高空俯瞰狮城
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Alice in Wonderland
刊22页
Gantries come down, charges go up
CHARGING DRIVERS: Car park gantries around the NTU campus, built in 2006, will soon be put into operation.
Gantries placed at the entrances of various car parks will start operating this May, years after they were built. Poh Wee Koon Come May, the NTU community will have to pay to park in most car parks around campus. The Student Affairs Office (SAO) and the Office of Facilities Plannng & Management (OFPM) talked to the Students’ Union, the Motoring Club and the Junior Common Room Committee representatives in a consultation on March 2nd.
An official announcement is expected very shortly. Gantries around most of the University’s car parks have been built since 2006, and will become operational in two month’s time. The car parks that are close to school buildings, such as those at the School of Art, Design and Media and the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences will charge $0.015/min, up to $3.60 per entry. The current charging car parks will also see an change in parking fees, to $0.02/min, up to $4.80 per entry. This is an increase of $1.80 from the current cap on car park fees. Other than Hall 7, parking at the other halls, as well as staff accommodation, will remain free.
PHOTO | IRWIN TAN
“In fact, I think we are one of the last few places to have free parking in Singapore.” Syed Munir School of Biological Sciences PhD student
Hall 7 is deemed to be of close proximity to the academic complexes and would attract many non-resident users. This is why charge-free parking would not be available there. Marcus Chow, 22, a Hall 7 resident, said
it is justifiable that they would want to charge for parking in Hall 7, but hopes some concession will be made for the residents who drive. “Perhaps they can come up with a system so that we (Hall 7 residents) can register and pay a lower season parking fee,” said the second-year Mechanical Engineering student. Discussed during the consultation was the issue of season parking, which will be made available. It will be $55/mth at the current charging car parks, and $35/mth at the other car parks that will start charging. The prices for both staff and students will be the same. This price is in between NUS’ tiered system, which ranges from $20 to $45. The NUS system divides the motorists into three tiers – students, family and staff. “It is inevitable that we will star t charging for parking,” said Syed Munir, 26, a PhD student at the School of Biological Sciences. He also believes that having one rate for both students and staff is fair, as “it is still a car, no matter who it is driven by.” Euge ne C he n , 22 , a se cond-yea r Environmental Engineering student feels that a tiered system would be fairer to students. “After all, we have no income. It would be unfair for us to pay as much,” said Chen. Representatives at the consultation also asked if there would be more shuttle buses provided, as higher parking fees would mean more commuters on them. The reply was that the University is constantly looking for ways to improve the current shuttle bus service. Howe ve r, i nc r ea si ng t he nu mbe r of buses may not be feasible due to capacit y constraints the NT U campus faces. OFPM has declined to comment until an official announcement has been made. “In fact, I think we are one of the last few places to have free parking in Singapore,” said Syed.