The Academic Senate of the University of South Bohemia has approved the plan of the university's leadership to expand the student parking lot on the USB campus. During 2027, an additional 90 student parking spaces are to be added to the existing parking lot near the South Bohemian Science and Technology Park. The university will invest approximately CZK 14 million in the capacity expansion. The investment also includes the reconstruction of related roads and sidewalks in the adjacent USB campus, including public lighting and electric vehicle charging. The USB leadership decided to increase the number of spaces based partly on a survey in which all students could express their views on commuting options to the campus. Out of a total of 1,100 completed questionnaires, almost 58% of students expressed the strongest support for the proposed option of 90 new parking spaces. At the same time, they see merit in supplementing any capacity measure with clear rules, access control for the parking lot, and available alternatives. One of these is, for example, the option of carpooling using an app developed at the USB Faculty of Economics, www.jedemespolu.cz.
Expanding the student parking lot at USB's expense is just one step in a comprehensive solution to transportation and parking around the university campus. The university wants to address the situation together with the Municipality of České Budějovice, as it concerns not only students around the campus but also local residents. The University of South Bohemia is an important partner for the city and a significant economic entity that brings not only students but also jobs to the regional capital. Cooperation with the municipality in addressing transport connections and parking is therefore necessary for all further options under consideration.
