Ticketing and towing of student cars on campus appear to be down from this time last year, according to the office of Campus Safety and Security.
When students returned to campus for the fall semester, many anticipated that with the removal of the Joan of Arc parking lot would come an increase in parking issues and tickets as students adjusted to the new layout.
Students would be surprised to know, therefore, that the number of citations issued between August and January of last year is actually around 200 more than have been issued so far this year.
Director of Campus Safety and Security Don Davidson says that while the new South Lot has proved an inconvenience to students, it has not seriously impacted the number of students to park illegally on campus.
“The removal of the Joan of Arc Lot has certainly displaced students, but the overall they have grown used to it,” Davidson said. “We gave students a grace period at the beginning of the fall semester and gave out a lot of warnings to give them time to acclimate.”
The number of warnings given out may be part of the reason for the lower numbers this year, according to Davidson.
“The number of citations given out includes warnings and appealed tickets as well,” Davidson said, “so the number of students actually fined may be different than the number of citations given out.”
Many of the warnings given out were given for students leaving their cars past 2:00 AM in a “No Overnight Parking” zone. Davidson said that in the first week of school there were as many as sixty cars a night parked in “No Overnight” lots like the Dana Lot.
“Our officers would go out and come back to the office saying there were a lot of cars parked in the Dana lot,” Davidson said. “We decided to give out these slips letting students know they were not allowed to park there overnight anymore.”
The slips Davidson referred to were white slips of paper left under the windshield wiper that informed the driver of the “No Overnight” status of the lot and that they could not leave their car there past 2:00 AM. It also referred students to the college handbook for more detailed regulations.
These lots have limits on parking times for safety reasons, according to Davidson. When students are parked on the sides of the driveways near residence halls or other buildings, it makes it difficult for emergency vehicles to pass in the event of an urgent situation.
The faculty parking and Dana lots also need to be cleared in case of the need to plow the snow. Many of the cars that are towed are done so to make way for the trucks to come through and lay down sand and clear the lot.
The rule Davidson has his officers work by is to be fair, but to be consistent.
“We are not here to try to be the bad guys,” Davidson said. “We are certainly fair in giving out warnings before citations, but at the end of the day students’ safety comes first, and we need to have the roads clear.”
Davidson maintains that while the change is inconvenient now, the issues will not last.
“Three years from now no one will even remember that there ever was a Joan of Arc Lot,” Davidson laughed. “Other than the alumni who come back to visit, no students will even realize that there used to be a slightly shorter walk to the car.”
