Parking survival guide
Liam Rockliffe, Features Editor |
The year is 2024, with fees equal to tuition for one class, parking at MRU has never been less desirable; however, classes must be attended, degrees must be obtained, and money has to be saved. For students wishing to get through their years at MRU by spending the least amount possible on parking, here is a – completely legal – survival guide.
According to Calgary Public Parking Map, there are however several free alternatives to the exorbitant costs of parking at MRU. To the west of Bethany Chapel along Richardson Road SW, there is a park where street parking is both free and not limited by any timeframe. Along Grafton Dr. SW there are several two-hour street parking zones, and more of these parking zones exist on Galbraith Dr. SW, 46 Ave SW, but fill up quickly and have a walk to MRU. Which is why I recommend looking for yourselves on the Calgary Parking map website.
Bethany Hall offers parking permits but these have to be bought on August thirteenth as they sell out almost immediately. These permits are only 100 dollars cheaper than the cheapest option at MRU for parking, and the distance is comparable to parking on the street, but any alternative to MRU’s parking dictatorship is a good one.
For the price of 100 dollars per month, or $8.50 per day – 400 for a 4-month semester– Westmount Corporate Campus offers parking to students in the yellow zone which is an above ground parkade located only minutes away from Riddell Library. No hang tags or stickers are required to park here, they simply just require registering through the “honk” app or calling 825 -509-4221.
Every train station in Calgary has public parking, however, MRU doesn’t have its own train station. Listed are the five closest train stations and the times to get to MRU:
Blue Line: 30 Minutes from Westbrook LRT, 30 Minutes from- 45th Street LRT, and 45 Minutes from Sirocco LRT; Red Line: 30 Minutes from both Chinook and Heritage LRT.
Grey Eagle Event Centre offers parking at their location just a 20 minute transit from MRU. There is a lengthy walk from the parking to the transit station however, and the location is outside of most people’s commute. Chinook Mall provides a much more convenient location for students to park. Being located in central south Calgary, Chinook Mall holds near unlimited parking and by hopping on the number 9 bus, students can be at school in 30 minutes. However, with both these options still using public transportation–which is unreliable at the best of times–and being further than the other options listed, parking in these lots carry their own negatives.
Parking will continue to be a battle at MRU, with prices being too high for the average student to want to pay them, and good spots being few and far between, every student must find their own alternatives, or bite the bullet of MRU rates. Third and fourth year students can also be a resource for students looking for parking strategies passed down from classmate to classmate.
