Because of the recent construction in Aggieville, the city commission voted on April 16 to allow the public access to the parking garage 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This went into effect April 17.

According to the City of Manhattan, parking from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday is free, while all other times are charged. Long-term parking, however, is not permitted.

“It is unlawful to park a vehicle for more than 24 continuous hours in one spot in the Aggieville Garage,” according to the City of MHK.

Adrienne Tucker, parking services manager for the City of MHK, said the change helps relieve employees of stress.

“We want to provide them with a place to park — especially when construction starts back up,” Tucker said. “We’re losing over 150 public parking spots on the street and so to make up for that, we are allowing free parking Monday through Friday, 8 to 5.” 

Eula Hammond, manager at Bluestem Bistro, said there were times when she would park outside of Aggieville because she didn’t want to pay.

“I think it makes people more likely to want to come down here in general,” Hammond said. “I know like, even with myself, I have become so frustrated trying to find a spot. … I think overall, for our business and all of the Aggieville businesses, it should have a positive impact.”

Tucker said when construction ends, the garage will go back to an hourly rate.

“There’s always going to be those who want free parking, but then there are those who understand that there’s no such thing as free parking,” Tucker said. “In order to maintain infrastructure, it comes at a cost and that cost should not be passed on to the taxpayer.”

Hammond said she believes “it would be the best for everybody” if the parking garage remained free. 

“They’re [the City of MHK] so unpredictable,” Hammond said. “With the parking lot behind Bluestem, for a long time it was open, and then they closed it to do construction and then you know, they decided to just not do anything with it at all.”

Grace Randles, sophomore in anthropology, said while she doesn’t typically use the Aggieville Garage, she would like K-State to do something similar.

“While I don’t know if it should necessarily be free, you have a parking pass that should be able to pay for it,” Randles said. “But like how I said, the other parking lots on campus are open to the public at certain hours and you won’t get ticketed, that should be the same thing for the parking garage as well.”