The Rocket

Issue date: 9/5/08 Section: News

Commuter parking pass

Parking has always been an issue on campus, and this year is no exception as students and staff continue to fight for an available parking spot and pay for permits to do so.

The enforcement for assigned locations around campus is effective between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. At night and during weekends, these areas are open for anyone to use for parking.

According to a desk worker at the Campus Police station, Amanda Ayers, a 20-year-old junior information technology major, parking lots are patrolled daily and usually more than once a day.

Any students who live off campus or commutes and plan on parking their vehicle on campus during the day must obtain a parking permit from the campus police station. The cost of a permit for commuters is $25.

If a car that has no parking permit is parked in a commuter area, that person will be charged $50.

Students who live on campus and bring a car to school must pay $25 in order to be allowed to park in the resident parking lots. Any car found in these locations without a permit will get a $30 fine.

Ayers said any vehicles found in resident parking with parking decals but aren't registered will face a harsher fine.

"If residents switch the decals from car to car and one car isn't registered, we issue a $50 fine," Ayers said.

Ayers also said that if a resident with only a resident parking decal parks on campus in a commuter parking lot, they will be fined $50.

Arch Autenreith, a 19-year-old freshman and double major in secondary education and history, thinks a reason people park illegally is because they can't find a parking spot in the available lots.

"Sometimes people park in the wrong space because they can't find a spot or don't know where they are allowed to park," Autenreith said. "It's hard enough to find an available spot."

Staff members receive parking passes for free, yet have to pay $50 if they park in a staff parking lot without a pass.

Any vehicle found in a non-designated parking zone such as on sidewalks, in the grass, or in restricted areas such as reserved parking or loading zones, will receive a $30 fine.

Also, there are many locations around campus such as in front of dorms, in front of the University Union or classroom buildings that allow fifteen minute parking, with use of flashers. Any vehicle found in those locations for longer than fifteen minutes will receive a $30 fine.

In handicap parking regions, a violator will receive a $100 fine on their first offence, a $150 fine on their second and a $200 on their third.

Violators parked illegal in fire lanes will receive a $25 fine on their first offense, $50 on their second and a $75 fine on their third.

Parking passes for apartments around the campus vary as well.

Some complexes, such as The Ivy Apartments, the Cooper Street Apartments and apartments at The Heights do not charge residents for parking permits. However other apartments such as South Rock, charge a $50 per semester fee for parking passes.

Matt McVay, a 20-year-old junior elementary education major, feels that the cost for a parking permit at South Rock is a little extreme.

"It's pretty expensive considering we are college students," McVay said. "That's a ton of money for something so small."

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