Students commuting to classes at Western Kentucky University this fall will experience a new permitting system that parking officials hope will offer more options and flexibility.

Jennifer Tougas, the director of parking and transportation services at WKU, said the division is restricting permit sales for Parking Structure 2, between E.A. Diddle Arena and Houchens-Smith Stadium, to give commuter students a better chance of landing a spot in the middle of campus.

However, the commuter permits for Parking Structure 2, called C1 permits, come at a premium cost of $240 annually. Moreover, it’s worth noting the permit doesn’t guarantee a space.

“If you have a C1 permit, then your chances are pretty high you’ll be able to find parking there,” Tougas said in an interview. “It’s not guaranteed, but we are limiting permit sales to make it easier for commuters to find parking in Parking Structure 2.”

Commuters can also purchase less-expensive C2 permits for parking lots closer to the perimeter of campus, Tougas said. Those permits cost $120 annually and allow students to park in lots along Creason Street, University Boulevard and Chestnut and Kentucky streets, according to the Parking and Transportation Services website.

“All of that parking is first come, first served,” Tougas added.

Additionally, the new Parking Structure 3, in the back of the Creason Street lot, is open to C1 and C2 permit holders. The parking structure, which adds about 500 spaces to campus, will be used by commuter and resident students in equal amounts, Tougas said. It also means all residents will be back on the main campus, she added. Previously, residents were parking at South Campus while the structure was under construction.

Coming in as the lowest-cost annual permit is the C3, which for $50 allows students to park at a lot along Russellville Road and ride a bus to campus. Students can also use the park and ride lots at South Campus for the same price with a C4 permit.

The C3 permit is on the same bus route as Parking Structure 3, and Tougas described it as a “good, low-cost option for the commuters” compared to parking in a structure that’s just a couple hundred feet closer to campus for $120 annually.

One advantage for holders of the premium C1 permits, Tougas said, is that they can park in lower-cost zones if spaces aren’t available in Parking Structure 2. The only exception is after 2 p.m., when demand for parking on campus drops and “all commuter permits are valid in all commuter lots,” Tougas said.

Some changes also extend to students living on campus, including making levels four through seven in Parking Structure 1, beside Diddle Arena, H1 housing premium parking.

Additionally, H5 non-premium parking is moving to Parking Structure 3 in the Creason Street lot.

In general, students will be paying more for parking.

“We went up 10 percent compared to last year” across the board, Tougas said. She added that fees are used to maintain parking facilities and the university’s bus fleet.

Tougas said Parking and Transportation Services is developing a daily commuter option for students in light of parking patterns observed at Parking Structure 2. Most students don’t actually end up using the structure every day during the week, she said.

The daily option would work in a similar way as the Big Red Dollars students use for dining on campus and help fill the niche of student demand, she said. Students would have an account balance for parking and using a day would deplete that balance.

“This is an option for students who really only come to campus about once a week,” she said.

“At this point, I’m not confident we’ll have it ready for the start of school,” Tougas told the Daily News on Tuesday. “We have sold some daily commuter permits and we will make accommodations for them.”

– For more information about purchasing a permit, call 270-745-2361 or visit www.wku.edu/transportation/index.php. Parking information is also available at www.wku.edu/transportation/wkuknowparking.php.