Finding a parking spot won’t be the only struggle next week as classes starting at NKU, getting in and out of the garages on campus could also pose a problem for many students, especially those without an old parking pass.

NKU is in the process of installing new parking systems in all three parking garages- Kenton Drive, University Drive and the Welcome Center garage.

According to Andy Meeks, director of business operations and auxiliary services, the system is in early stages of installation. Parking services is currently working on running telephone lines and installing security cameras.

The new parking system will not be fully installed in each garage until mid-September, according to Meeks, who added that the installation of the system would not cause parking issues, as his crew plans to work mostly overnight and through the weekends.

Meeks said that the passes from the previous year will be active until around August 20 and after that they will rely on having parking personnel at entrances and the exits to manually lift the gates.

“When we knew that we were going to be mid-September on getting all of the equipment in, and so we just made the commitment to have personnel there to work the gates so that it was not a problem or that it did not slow down traffic,” Meeks said.

Meeks also explained  that the equipment and technology in the parking garages are about 8 years old.

“We have actually been planning for a few years to make this move, to update the equipment in the garages,” Meeks said.

To work with the new system, the design of parking passes has also changed.

The new passes are darker in color, and each pass has a unique barcode that will be scanned upon entry.

According to Meeks, the new parking passes were designed to prevent acts of fraud.

“The reason that you see that they’re darkened out a little bit, is specifically so that people can’t make copies of the barcode,” Meeks said.

Meeks said the entire system, including all equipment and technology, will cost $400,000.