Dissecting student parking tickets

“We patrol every lot under the control of GCSU equally everyday. Despite rain or inclement weather, we still go to each lot and make sure they all get fair attention,” said Brandy Snyder, coordinator of the Parking Enforcement Office.

Unfortunately for a few select students, they have found themselves much worse off in the number of parking tickets than others this semester. Adrienne Warren, a freshman marketing major, has managed to rack up a total of four tickets so far this semester. Only one of those was given to her by Milledgeville. All others have been from GCSU campus police or from the Parking Enforcement Office.

“I’ve spent exactly $100 on tickets this semester, and only 10 of those dollars have gone to the city of Milledgeville. My primary problem has been parking in the commuter lot behind Napier (Hall). It’s just so much more convenient than having to park all the way back behind Centennial (Center). That and the fact there are sometimes no parking spots in the designated parking areas behind the dorms.”

Emily McCurley

Debra Lango tickets a car not displaying a GCSU parking ticket outside of the Centennial Center. Lango has monitored the parking lots at GCSU for over three years and distributes about 50 parking tickets per day. Offenses range from parking in an unmarked spot, overstaying timed limit, parking against the flow of traffic, using an unexpired parking tag or not displaying a parking tag.

Students have approximately 14 days to appeal the ticket if they feel there are special circumstances they can prove in regards to their parking. If the ticket is not paid within that amount of time, the fine will increase by $1 a day until the ticket amount doubles—to $60 in most cases.

“We will only put a boot on a vehicle if there are three outstanding tickets and we still find your vehicle parked in an un-designated spot,” Snyder said. “That’s normally the only case.”

Other problems students face include the towing of their cars, which can prove to be much more expensive than your run of the mill parking ticket.

“We will only tow your car if it is in a reserved parking spot or if you are impeding traffic,” Snyder said. “We don’t just tow your vehicle for fun.”

Roxy Russell, a sophomore mass communication major, had her Honda Accord towed because she was parked in an emergency vehicle zone behind Foundation Hall.

“Honestly, I parked there only because of the lack of spaces behind my dorm and in the other designated spots,” Russell said. “I wasn’t really paying attention to the fact that there was an emergency parking zone there. Little did I know the mistake would cost me half a day and $110.”

Some students’ totals for tickets have reached even higher amounts. Cici Jacobs, a freshman mass communication major, declared that her totals on tickets have almost reached $150. Andy Hitt, a freshman undeclared major, has also received two tickets this semester.

The best advice for students in regards to parking is to always ensure parking within the correct zone. Remember, it doesn’t matter if it is raining or not. The Parking Enforcement Office will be enforcing the rules, regardless.

Posted by ConnorJohnson on Nov 18 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.