A new parking committee will study the ongoing parking issues on campus in hopes of finding some solutions.

How to relieve the shortage of parking spaces will be the committees main concern in a study to be done during the summer and fall semesters.

Dan Nadler, vice president for student affairs, will head the committee, which is organized by the Council of University Planning and Budgets.

“We just need to do a very comprehensive study to find out exactly where we stand in our parking situation,” Nadler said.

The committee will consist of two faculty, two staff and two student members who will look at the current situation and future parking needs.

“Parking is a very complicated issue,” Nadler said. “Eastern is not unlike many institutions that are facing very similar challenges.”

Eastern has one of the lowest parking fees compared to other state universities that are also struggling with parking shortages on campus.

“I think we need to look at what we’re currently charging and how that compares to other institutions,” Nadler said.

The committee wants to determine how many spaces are on campus, where they are and how they are being used.

Parking is already a problem, and can be expected to get worse in the future. New classes of students bring more cars each year.

“In our society, we’re becoming increasingly mobile and everyone likes to have their own set of wheels, and that creates additional challenges,” Nadler said. “A greater percentage of our students arriving today own cars, more so than our students did 10 years ago.”

The committee will also evaluate the shuttle service and throw around the idea of a parking garage.

“I wish more people would use the shuttle bus,” said Eastern President Lou Hencken. Use of the shuttle bus would cut down on congestion in parking lots.

Hencken is also paying attention to the idea of a parking garage.

“I believe very strongly, that we need a parking garage,” he said. “I’ve seen it work at other universities.

“I think the idea is good, but like everything else the devil is in the details and we need to find out what these things cost.”

Nadler said he hopes the committee can develop recommendations that will need little funding, but knows that an undertaking like a parking garage will require major funding.

“If we want to do some additional construction of lots or parking garages, then there are additional costs that will be associated with that as well,” Nadler said.

The state does not appropriate funds for parking, so money would have to be raised either internally or externally, Nadler said. Raising parking fees might be one way to do that.

“There are some solutions, but again, solutions cost dollars,” Nadler said. “We are going to do our very best to do good, sound research and come up with some good sound recommendations for consideration.”