Moraga Approves Parking Plan For St. Mary's College

Higher parking rates and perhaps more parking tickets are in the near future for students at St. Mary's College.

The Moraga Planning Commission has approved a parking plan for the college that includes the imposition of parking fees and stricter enforcement of parking regulations.

The guidelines approved Monday night were drawn up because plans for the construction of the new 52,000-square-foot Joseph L. Alioto Recreation Center at the campus identified inadequate parking as a potential negative impact.

The Parking Management Plan calls for the creation of paid parking on campus, financial incentives for employees and students to use public transit, enhanced parking enforcement, improvements to pedestrian and bicycle facilities, ride sharing programs and parking management systems.

The report says the fees and enforcement would help reduce demand for parking.

The report also notes that some students who live on campus drive to other parts of the school. It said better bicycle facilities would discourage that.

The college also plans to re-stripe some parking lots to create more compact spaces, increasing the number of spots available. 

The college may also build a parking deck over the De La Salle Drive commuter parking lot to replace spaces that will be removed with the construction of the new library and learning commons.

These changes take effect over the next three years.