WSU has closed off parking lots and decreased snow maintenance around campus to save money.

WSU Transportation Services closed three Green 3 parking lots at the intersection of Columbia Street and Spokane Street, a Green 4 lot by the Chinook and a Green 5 lot on Ferdinand’s Lane for the fall and winter, said Cody Wilson, WSU Transportation Services customer service manager.

The five lots were chosen because they were gravel lots, which require more maintenance for potholes than paved lots, he said.

WSU Facility Services will not conduct snow maintenance for the 25 parking lots that will remain open, he said. Some maintained lots will have sectioned-off areas with no snow maintenance.

The Transportation Services field team surveyed where cars were parking to make sure closing the lots would have a minimum impact on permit pass holders, Wilson said.

“We’re not just closing entire zones so people aren’t going to find a parking spot or closing so much of a zone that they can’t find parking,” Wilson said. “Our top priority was to ensure that our customers who purchased permits have a place to park when they come to campus.”

Transportation Services plans to keep the five lots closed until April 30, he said. The lots may remain closed after that time period if snow is in the forecast.

Minimizing the costs of snow removal and gravel maintenance will not save enough money to offset the revenue lost from unsold parking passes, he said.

Parking lots that do have snow maintenance will be plowed after operating hours once there are at least 3 inches of snow on the ground, said Ian Allen, WSU Facility Services equipment operator lead. Snow maintenance for roads on campus will continue as normal.

Students should prepare for snowy road conditions by putting snow tires on their vehicle, Allen said. Warm, insulated clothes and winter boots with traction are recommended when walking through the snow.

“We see so often students thinking that their all-season tires will get them around just fine,” he said. “With the hills and the steepness of the roads on campus, they truly need good snow tires.”

Allen said he wants to put together a video to show incoming students the importance of snow tires in the winter.

More information about the parking lot closures and reduced snow maintenance can be found on the Transportation Services website.