On Campus

Dalhousie professor quits over parking

School has 2,000 spots for 20,000 staff, faculty and students

Photo courtesy of Kevin Krejci on Flickr

A Dalhousie University professor told CBC News that a severe parking shortage forced him to quit.

That’s how bad things have become for commuters on certain Canadian campuses.

Dan Middlemiss was in a long line on Monday to buy one of only 2,000 parking passes available to the 20,000 students, staff and faculty at the university in Halifax. But after waiting more than an hour, he quit the line in disgust and then quit his job too. Middlemiss had taught for 31 years as part of the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies. He explained his problem: “I have to get on the road around 6:30 to 7:00 to get an assured parking spot somewhere so I can get here to teach at 2:30 in the afternoon,” he said. “It’s ridiculous.”

The school is planning to turn one of its lots into a reserved parking area for about 200 drivers and to install 100 new bike racks there too, meaning fewer spots for regular drivers. A parking garage is also in the early stages of planning. Clearly, it can’t come soon enough for Middlemiss.

Other universities are struggling to provide more parking too. The University of Victoria is facing opposition from the municipal council in Saanich, B.C. where they want to erect a 505-stall seven-story parking garage to deal with cars that will come to its planned 2,100 seat gymnasium.

The high demand for parking spots means high costs at many schools — more than $100 per month at some. But at other schools, parking is still very affordable. To see for yourself, check out our list of the Top 10 Most (and Least) Expensive Schools to Park at in Canada.

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