The ParkMobile app is now fully available at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and has been in use since its Nov. 20 announcement.

The app allows you to reserve a parking spot in a designated area for $6 an hour and was implemented for visitor parking. But since its launch, it has raised concerns from students as well as faculty members.

“Most concerns I heard have not been about the ability of faculty that can park given these changes,” said Assistant Professor of Psychology Dr. Miguel Moreno, “but instead of how the changes to the parking could have an influence on other activities that the university holds.”

Some examples that Moreno listed from faculty were how the ParkMobile spots will affect the ability to park during events at the Performing Arts Center, Center for the Arts and summer camp programs. Moreno emphasized how important it is for visitors to feel welcome on campus.

“We want to make sure that we recruit young minds to keep our name out there,” said Moreno, “and to continue to host activities here at this university, instead of losing those activities to other facilities that might provide less restrictions.”

UPD Parking Control Specialist Brenda Martinez says that they are working with ParkMobile to help rememdy concerns regarding parking for an event hosted by the university.

“We’re able to create event codes,” said Martinez. “For events at the PAC, they will be able to go where they’re going to purchase their ticket for the show, and they’re also able to pay for their parking on the same location.”

Martinez added that they are working with ParkMobile and Symfony to combine it with ticket sales and potentially make an event venue website for the PAC in the near future. For the summer camps and small department activities, they will be given department codes which allows them to input the license plate of the guests in attendance to park anywhere on campus.

If you have a garage parking pass or regular parking permit, Martinez stressed that the ParkMobile spots are for visitors who have paid for the spots through the app. Meaning even if you have a permit, you would have to pay through ParkMobile to use the designated spots.

“Those spaces are supposed to be only for on-demand visitor parking,” said Martinez. “Although, if someone is running late or is needing to run into a meeting, and they have a valid parking permit, they can park there temporarily.” This applies to student’s classes that are only an hour.

Martinez stated there have been concerns from students about having their spots taken away. One of the concerned students is senior Nursing major Lauren Brown. “It makes parking even worse on campus,” said Brown. “Now you’re taking away my princess parking as well as other parking spaces for other students.”

Brown also added that paying $6 an hour for parking in the ParkMobile spots is ridiculous due to it being more than the hourly charge in the parking garage previously. But the funds through ParkMobile will be used to help aid in coming parking lot repairs.

“That money that is obtained from your student parking pass, plus the visitors who used the ParkMobile on a daily basis,” said Associate Vice President of Operations Dr. John Dawson. “that revenue will be used to pay for the repair.” Read page three for more info on coming repairs.

Martinez said that they are currently promoting for students who live in Momentum Village to take the shuttle to help try to alleviate the lack of parking spots. “We are pushing the Momentum Shuttle to help transport as many students as they can from the Momentum campus,” said Martinez, “so they don’t take up as much parking spaces for those who commute to campus that don’t live at Momentum.”