But they admit, with thousands more commuters than stalls available on campus, the decadeslong problem will never be completely solved.

Neighborhood residents worry that the situation could even worsen as the university prepares to redevelop Frear Hall and add 800 new dorm beds by 2008.

And they aren't the only ones who are concerned. As students purchased books and finalized registration on campus last week, many were dreading the daily search for a parking space — either on campus or on neighborhood streets.

For the past few years, Corrie Ota said, she has experienced every possible parking scenario — circling residential streets in Manoa, paying $3 a day to park on campus and having the security of a semester parking pass. But this semester Ota has decided to forget the daily parking dance and ride the bus, even if it means leaving her home in 'Ewa as early as 5 a.m.

"Parking is crazy here. There isn't enough of it," said Ota, a senior information technology major.

Residents are also fuming, saying the long-standing problem has not eased and is only expected to get worse in the coming years.

"There are a lot of complaints about people illegal parking, blocking driveways," said James Harwood, a McKinley Street resident in Manoa who also serves on the neighborhood board. He said students park on his street because "they don't want to pay for (parking on campus). They'd rather have free parking on the curb."

LEAVE CARS AT HOME

Starting with the more than 3,000 students who live on the UH-Manoa campus, university officials are urging dorm residents not to bring cars on campus, said Jim Manke, UH-Manoa spokesman.

According to a survey of dorm residents conducted by the university, about 20 percent of students who live on campus bring a car. That's about 600 cars. With only 143 parking stalls available at the residence halls, that means more than 400 cars are left to spill out on to Dole Street and surrounding neighborhoods.

To relieve some of that spillover, the university has opened an additional 100 stalls in its Dole Street parking structure near the Hawaiian Studies building. Dorm residents would need to purchase a $134-a-semester pass to park in those stalls, Manke said.

Karen Ah Mai, chairwoman of the St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board, said she is concerned with the spillover of cars.

"The parking on Dole Street side of campus has been pretty much from the dorms," she said. "They go into the neighborhood, they park and don't come back until the weekend when they need their cars."

Ah Mai said cars often block mailboxes, trash pickup and driveways, creating an "inconvenience for residents."

In response, the university has created fliers that residents can place on cars to remind students to "park responsibly."

"The students need to recognize that parking in the neighborhood is a privilege the university cannot afford to lose," Manke said.

Last week, junior zoology major Ashley Pallas was applying for a car pool permit — available to students who will be commuting to campus in groups of two or more. She said she no longer lives on campus, in part because of the lack of parking available to student residents.

She used to park on Dole Street and walk to her dorm room. But last semester, she said, her car was stolen along with a few other student cars.

She also said she notices that some students do block driveways or park illegally.

"Parking on the street is really unsafe, but there is nowhere else to park," she said. "We feel bad if we park in front of someone's house, but we have to get to class. We have to park somewhere," she said.

BUS-PASS BARGAIN

Michelle Kennedy, spokeswoman for TheBus, said there isn't a way to track whether more students are buying $100-a-semester bus passes, but she said there is definitely an increase in the number of passes being sold on university campuses.

At UH-Manoa, 800 to 900 regular monthly passes normally were sold each semester, Manke said. But last semester about 2,500 of the $100-all-semester passes were sold, he said.

"The U-Pass is really a great deal. It's basically half-price for students," Kennedy said.

The university also is developing its own shuttle service to Waikiki, Ala Moana Center, Ward Center and Restaurant Row, Manke said. The number of shuttles — which will run on a trial basis this semester — and the routes have not been determined.

Parking concerns also were expressed during a City Council meeting on Wednesday, when council members reviewed Frear Hall redevelopment plans.

Some council members suggested the university should add parking stalls each time it decides to build new residence halls. Councilwoman Barbara Marshall suggested that the university ban dorm residents from bringing a car to campus.

"There is a value to living in the dorms, so it doesn't seem unreasonable to me to ask students not to bring their cars," Marshall said.

Sam Callejo, UH vice president for administration, said students often need their cars to get to off-campus jobs or internships.

Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi said residents want assurance that the university is going to do something about parking.

"Over the years, the situation has not improved. (The residents) want some kind of assurance that as you build new buildings and bring more people on campus, that you consider parking," she said.

Callejo said new dorms could bring a decrease of cars on the street, since students who normally commute would be living on campus.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.