By: Niveja Assalaarachchi, Staff Writer and Noeka Nimmervoll, News Editor
On September 1, several revisions to SFU’s parking lots and service areas policies took effect. The university made notable changes, including designating separate areas for permit parking users and visitors, hourly parkers, and Flexpass users in the north and east lots. SFU also increased parking spaces for users of the EVO Car Share app in the east lot for greater accessibility.
The university noted that the revisions targeted increasing “parking availability for permit holders during the busiest weeks of the term,” according to a statement on their website. The Peak spoke with Maddy Mowat, an SFU kinesiology student who drives to campus. She shared she had gotten her first permit pass for the fall semester, but previously had been using hourly parking. She said hourly parking spots were a challenge to find and required effort to factor in. “When I was picking my classes, I had to think about, ‘Are there [parking] spots on campus when I’m going to get there?’” However, since she got her permit, she said she has repeatedly found more available parking spots in the north lot. “I think it’s definitely more of an advantage to permit holders, the new changes that they’ve implemented.”
The Peak also spoke with Shahad Al-Badran, an SFU business student who drives to campus, about her thoughts on the changes. Al-Badran said the additional allocation of parking space to apps like EVO was “frustrating” as designated spots already existed. “Because we have students with [U-Passes] and things like that, EVOs are not being utilized as much.” Mowat shared the view that EVOs were underutilized, and added, “Those main parking lots should be really focused just on visitor, FlexPass, and permit [parking]. I think if you’re going to make an EVO lot, [it] should be separate.
“There’s just a general lack of parking at SFU,” shared Mowat. She observed that the construction of the new SFU residence, set to open in fall 2027, may increase the demand for parking. She noted there was inconsistency in the decision to build “a whole new residence to house students” without building more parking spots for the increased population on the mountain. As a solution, she suggested that SFU construct multi-level parking buildings, similar to the one in the West Mall Parkade.
In a statement to The Peak, SFU stated that 15% of the total lots in the north and east lot would be available for drivers who use an hourly pass or a FlexPass, with the remaining 85% being open to semesterly permit parking holders at SFU. SFU clarified that all changes were in effect during business days, although all other hours allowed mixed use of the parking spaces. “The university has also paved the Residence West gravel lot. This is the least expensive parking option at Burnaby campus (parts of Lhuḵw’lhuḵw’áyten). The free Campus Community Shuttle provides convenient service between parking areas and campus destinations.”
In addition to the changes in the north lot, the university will be launching a new pilot program which will allow commuters to see the availability of the lot in real time. Al-Badran spoke positively about the change, hoping the move would be “implemented in the West Mall and the east parking lot as well.” Mowat echoed these sentiments.
Overall, Al-Badran hoped for further improvement in SFU’s parking policy that would make driving commutes to SFU more affordable. She noted the rates for parking remain expensive. In the north lot, hourly parking ranges, with one hour charged at $5.10 or $6.35, depending on the time of day. Daily passes, which allow you to park until 11:59 p.m. on the same day, cost $29.10. Students can also apply for FlexPass, which costs $88 and permits them to ten daily passes. Another option is purchasing a semesterly permit. The permits for outdoor lots cost $342 after tax, while indoor lots, such as the west and south parkade, cost $448 after tax. Al-Badran hoped rates would become more affordable.
“It wasn’t disclosed clearly that you should apply for a permit well in advance. So, I would like some more instructions on the SFU website, especially for new first-year incoming students, on how to navigate parking, and how to actually get a permit, or the other options.”
— Shahad Al-Badran, SFU Student
Al-Badran also noted how difficult it can be to get a semester permit on campus. “I would like some more instructions on the SFU website, especially for new first-year incoming students, on how to navigate parking and how to actually get a permit, or the other options.”
“Overall, I believe that the parking at SFU should be more forgiving,” shared Mowat. “The concord parking that patrols the lots should give a better grace period to visitor parking students when their parking time expires.” She noted that as a university campus, the parking should be accommodating to university students’ unique needs. “SFU parking times should better match the SFU class schedule times, providing visitor parking options such as 1 hour 10 minutes, 1 hour 15 minutes to better fit the odd class times,” she shared.
