It's hard for students to find a parking spot in Ann Arbor, and it's going to get harder.

University planners presented a Central Campus schematic to the University Board of Regents yesterday that includes the construction of several new facilities and the renovation of more. But as the University expands, Ann Arbor has to find a way to hold all of it.

"(Expansion) raises issues of transportation and parking," University President Mary Sue Coleman said. "But we have a plan."

David Miller, director of transportation and parking, said that to address inevitable issues of capacity the University will build one parking structure per year for the next five years. He also plans to further promote the environmentally friendly "van-pool" program to transport staff to campus.

The University will continue its policy of not providing parking for students, Miller said, but will instead beef up the campus busing systems.

"We're trying to get a culture where you can get around it, you don't need a car," said Hank Baier, associate vice president for facilities and operations.

To this effect the University has revved up busing programs. Just last year, the University created an express service to and from North Campus at peak times, created some new routes and significantly extended its hours.

But some students say it hasn't been enough. One common complaint among students is that there is no grocery store on campus or near University bus routes, making it difficult for students without cars to buy affordable groceries.

Dan Merson, a graduate student in the School of Education, said the fact that he does not own a car makes his life difficult even though he lives near a bus stop.

"For me to do anything besides go to class, I have to try to get rides from people," Merson said. He added that he often misses meetings on campus because the busses he usually takes don't run later than 10 p.m. "I like not having to have (a car) as long as you can get around easily, but you can't," he said.

Chris Baldwin, also a graduate student at the School of Education, said he would like to use the buses to commute from his house, which is close to a bus stop, but he can't afford to spend the extra time waiting for the bus to arrive.

"I'm a commuter, but I'm not using (the buses) because I can't afford to tack on another 30 to 45 minutes for an already long commute." Baldwin said. "But if there was predictability, I'd totally ride the bus."

Miller said upcoming improvements to the bus system include the addition of three new buses and the possible extension of routes and hours. The idea of an electronic countdown at bus stops that would let passengers know how far away the bus is was also floated at the meeting, but no concrete plans were made.

Diane Brown, a spokeswoman for the University, said some people perceive greater barriers to transportation than are really there.

"A lot of people don't know it takes them an hour to go the entire commuter route," Brown said.

Baier said previous improvements in transportation have already made a big impact on congestion and environmental sustainability.

"(We) created all these new riders, which takes about 2,000 cars off the road, that's what's huge," Baier said.

But Merson, who is considering buying a car for the winter season, said that unless the buses become much more reliable, students will still need cars.

"I value the environment and sustainability - but as we learned with recycling, create a system that's easy for people to use; otherwise they won't do it," Merson said.

Brown said she hopes bus stop locations will play an important role for students in locating housing. But some expressed concern that without cars, students would be packed into concentrated areas around bus stops and would not have much mobility. Merson said property close to bus stops is more expensive and is densely populated by students.

"You develop almost student ghettos," Merson said. "You're close to some things, but prices will go up and quality will go down. You could do a whole study on that."