While 867 students make use of one of Penn's six parking lots, many others seek alternative locations because of price and convenience concerns.
The cost of a University parking permit runs from $1,092 for the academic year to $1,455 for the entire year, but other places on Penn's campus, including fraternity lots and street parking, prove to be much cheaper.
Despite what may appear to be high costs for parking, Director of Business Services Larry Bell said that Penn is extremely competitive in its prices, and has never received a complaint from students over the cost of parking.
"We are obviously cheaper than other parts of the city, [and if you] compare to New York University or Columbia [or] what people pay to park to go to Harvard, ... we're much lower. We've never had a complaint about that," Bell said.
While Harvard University charges $1,500 annually for reserved garage parking, the parking fees at the University of Chicago range from only $30 to $60 per month, totaling at most $720 each year. At Columbia University, monthly costs range from approximately $1,235 to $1,500 for 12 months.
"We don't push people into parking. ... It's an individual choice, [but] we offer plenty of options to get on campus," Bell said.
Faculty and staff are given preference in parking space allocation, while students' needs are met on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Though the Penn Department of Transportation and Parking Web site states that "the demand for parking on campus during regular [weekday] business hours has always been far greater than the supply of available spaces," Bell noted that student parking spaces are still available.
According to Bell, most on-campus residents park in the lot at 40th and Walnut streets, above Freshgrocer, while commuters are usually assigned to park on 38th and Spruce streets.
Still, some students have managed to find ways to avoid parking in these spots.
College junior David Liebhaber currently keeps his car in the lot of his fraternity house, Kappa Alpha Society, located on Locust Walk.
"I live in Allentown, which is only about an hour from here, and tend to go home every three weeks, so it's really convenient," Liebhaber said, adding that "there's an advantage for going downtown and getting around the city."
He also noted the dramatic price difference between Penn lots and parking at KA.
"It's only $250 per semester for active brothers, [and] it's $450 a semester for non-brothers. The majority of our lot is rented out to non-brothers," including faculty, students and alumni, Liebhaber said.
The house even issues parking stickers and contracts "to make sure people don't take the space. I think there's just enough demand out there that people just see our lot and come to us asking if there's a space open," he added.
Other fraternity houses follow the same strategy, providing an alternative to the University parking fees.
College senior and Sigma Nu brother Brian Altman said that the house parking lot is leased out to other students, faculty and local alumni, as well as to Cavanaugh's Restaurant, which uses the space for employee parking.
Altman, who also has a car on campus, said he appreciates the convenience of having his own source of transportation.
"The city doesn't really have a great transportation system ... [and] it's much easier and cheaper to drive home than to take a bus or a train," Altman said.
College senior Adam Lampert said that not only is he able to park his vehicle in front of his apartment on 41st Street, but also he does not have to pay to keep it there.
"I have a car because I do a lot of things that require independent transportation, like ... club soccer or work on the University television ... [so] if I want to travel, it's pretty convenient," Lampert said.
