A petition in opposition of prohibiting parking near campus gathered more than 800 signatures last week and more students are expected to sign today.

Senior Sarah Williams coordinated the petition in opposition to an ordinance change that proposes to end parking on the 300 and 400 blocks of Roosevelt Avenue. The Eau Claire City Council will vote on the change during its business session 4 p.m. Tuesday.

“It’s a real student issue most students can identify with,” she said.

Williams and others involved with the petition plan to spend today collecting enough signatures to reach their goal of 2,000 total.

Aside from visiting classrooms, Williams said she plans to have a petition available today in the Student Organizations Complex in Davies Center.

When Williams approached Student Senate President Adrian Klenz with the 300 signatures she collected in a few hours, he said he was pleasantly surprised with her efforts.

“I was blown away by it,” Klenz said.

To show support of the student petition and help present student perspective, Klenz sent an e-mail to student leaders, asking them to skip tonight’s Student Senate meeting and attend the 7 p.m. public discussion meeting in front of City Council members.

While senators are encouraged to attend Senate to have a quorum, Klenz is placing Vice President Kate Demerse in charge of Senate so he can attend the council meeting.

“Hopefully it will be a rational discussion of the issue and not a personal thing,” he said of tonight’s City Council meeting.

Klenz said he wants to find other solutions to parking problems.

“To go with an outright ban is too far and it would create more problems,” he said.

If students were not aware of the proposed ordinance change, Williams attached a news article to the petition explaining it.

“Most people sign it,” she said. “Whether or not it affects them now, it will in the future.”