$6,300-a-spot parking lot going in at TMCC

Higher education officials have approved a new $2.4 million parking lot at Truckee Meadows Community College.

The new lot will have approximately 380 parking stalls and will be located on the northeast side of the Dandini Campus.

The approximate $6,300 cost per spot includes the cost of design and construction of the surface parking lot, lighting and landscaping. TMCC does not charge students or visitors to campus for parking. The lot will be funded from existing capital improvement fee balances.

The project was approved by the Nevada Board of Regents, the governing body over the state's public colleges and universities. The two day meeting in Las Vegas wraps up Friday afternoon.

The project is part of TMCC's facility master plan but also comes at a needed time after the college no longer has access to 377 parking spots that are owned by the Desert Research Institute.

Just at the fall semester started, TMCC was notified by DRI that the parking lot south of Raggio Parkway has been leased and could no longer be used by students as an overflow lot.

TMCC officials said parking was a problem as the semester started. It opened dirt lots to make room for a growing student body and school officials spent the first few days of the fall semester directing students on parking spots from golf carts.

TMCC said it worked with a consulting firm that presented plans for parking ranging from paved lots with parking structures. Costs ranged from $2,800 to $21,000 per stall.