Students May Park in Faculty/Staff Spaces during Exams.
Students must park in the areas prescribed by the parking regulations and by their
decal classification at all times.
Freshmen May Park at the Residence Halls During the Last Week of the Semester.
Freshmen must park in the freshman lots at all times except for those listed in the
parking regulations (see freshmen parking in the Parking Regulations) and at times when notice comes from the Parking Services Office that freshman parking
at the residence hall is allowed.
Handicapped Spaces May be Used for Unloading.
This is a violation of state law. This violation also has implications for the University
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Handicapped space violations
are strictly enforced.
Fire Lanes, No Parking Zones, and Driveways May be Used for Unloading
Unless the areas are marked with temporary loading zone signs as they are for the
first few days of a semester, these areas may not be used for unloading or parking.
Turning on Hazard Lights Allows a Motorist to Park Illegally for a Short Time.
Hazard lights do not negate illegal parking and tend to attract enforcement officers.
When classes are not in session, the parking rules are not enforced.
Even when classes are not in session, such as during Fall Break, Spring Break, Advising
Day, or a semester break, there are still many University offices that are open and
conducting business. The parking rules must be enforced during these periods in order
to provide parking for the faculty, staff, and others who must park to conduct business.
Parking fines and vehicle registration fees are used to purchase new police patrol
cars.
Police patrol vehicles are provided by the Office of Motor Fleet Management in Raleigh
and are replaced by that office when they reach 110,000 miles. We are required to
pay for mileage on the vehicles.
There are more parking decals sold than there are parking spaces on campus.
This statement is true, but many of the vehicles registered on campus are not here
all the time. Some students may only be on campus for an hour or two a day. Some are
not here at all on some days. Selling decals on a one-per-space basis is a wasteful
use of parking resources. This practice would mean that many students, staff, and
faculty would not be given the opportunity to purchase a decal so they could park
on campus even when there would be a number of available spaces. Also, this practice
would amount to "reserved parking" and require a much higher fee for parking than
is currently charged.
A recent study by a parking consultant found that even during peak times on campus,
there is still a surplus of parking spaces.
A system of selling no more decals than spaces available was tried in the mid-1970s.
It was very unpopular. Administrators found that the people who were denied a permit
just parked on campus without one and received many citations.
There University has a major parking problem since there is not enough parking on campus.
There are always parking spaces available on campus, although they may not be as convenient
as a motorist might like. To date, parking has always available in the baseball field
lot. Parking is usually available in the Creek lot. We invite anyone to look at those
areas during peak times to confirm that there are spaces available. All of campus
is serviced by the Cat-Tran shuttle bus during class hours. Therefore, transportation
around campus is available to those who park in the outlying lots.
If I do not register my vehicle, no one will know that I am a student, faculty, or
staff member and I will not have to pay for the tickets.
This assumption is costly. There are a number of ways that the parking staff can track
the owner of a vehicle including wheel-locking and towing. A vehicle that has outstanding
tickets may be impounded until the owner is identified and the tickets paid.
Parking Services Officers issue too many tickets.
Since tickets are only issued to illegally parked vehicles, the number of tickets
issued is based on the number of illegally parked vehicles on campus. There has actually
been a decrease in the number of tickets issued in recent years.
Parking Services Officers are not conscientious about enforcement or are inconsistent
in enforcement.
The goal of the Parking Services Office staff is to manage parking on campus and there
are a number of approaches that are used to achieve this goal. Enforcement is one
approach that is used. Parking Service Officers strive to be highly visible when conducting
enforcement activities so that they may also serve as a deterrent to illegal parking.
Due to the small size of the staff, these officers cannot be at every location where
there are parking violations. Unfortunately, this sometimes create the perception
of inconsistency in enforcement.
Only one citation can be issued within 24 hours.
In situations where spaces are time-limited or designated for short-term parking,
multiple citations may be issued. In addition, multiple citations may be issued when
a vehicle is committing a gross parking violation or when a vehicle is illegally parked in
another space or moved and illegally returned to the same space. Also, if there multiple
violations, more than one ticket may be issued.
If my vehicle is broke down, I will not have to pay for tickets.
An illegally parked vehicle that is disabled for whatever reason violates the rights
of other motorists who are eligible to use that particular space. For this reason,
the operator of the vehicle must take prompt action to correct problem and move the
vehicle to a legal space. The Parking Services Office staff can assist with citations
received during the first 24 hours a vehicle is disabled when appropriate. After 24
hours, the vehicle must be moved or the operator will be responsible for citations
or tow fee (see Disabled, Abandoned, or Derelict Vehicles in the Parking Regulations).
The University is "getting rich" off of the fines from parking tickets.
According to the North Carolina state constitution, all fines collected by state and
local agencies must go to the local school district. The Parking Services Office is
allowed to keep only a very small portion of the fines collected to offset some of
the administrative costs associated with enforcement. The cost to the University for
conducting parking enforcement activities far exceeds the small amount of fines that
the University may keep for administrative costs.
If I withdraw from the University, I do not have to pay any outstanding parking fines
I have.
Any fee or fine, regardless of the type, that is owed the University is considered
a debt owed to the State of North Carolina. The "Debt Set-Off" Act requires the University
to make efforts to collect the debt including placing a hold on a student's transcript,
filing a withholding notice for funds from a person's state income tax refund through
the North Carolina Attorney General's Office, or employing a collection agency. Also,
individuals who owe debts to the State of North Carolina may not be employed as a
state employee.
If I am not a member of the University community, then the parking rules do not apply
to me.
All of the University's rules, including parking rules, apply to all individuals who
are on campus. If a person is a visitor to campus, the Parking Services Office staff
will try to accommodate the person's parking needs. However, flagrant parking violations
are not ignored or excused.