Ever since sophomore letters and sciences major Alex Josephs got a $75 parking ticket for inadvertently parking in the wrong lot last summer, he’s been a man on a mission.
A mission to get what he said is an outrageous parking fee reduced. Josephs’ anger stems from his own experience – he misread a sign and was forced to pay an enormous fee. So just about every time he sees the bright yellow envelopes waiting on students’ windshield, he wonders whether they’ve made the same mistake.
“A lot of people get a lot of tickets,” Josephs said. “Students are being taken advantage of financially.”
Last year, 73,865 parking tickets were issued to students, visitors and faculty and staff, generating the department about $2.7 million in revenue. That was a $250,000 increase in the year before, before the penalty for parking in an incorrect lot was $35. DOTS officials also wrote nearly 50 percent more tickets after fines were raised.
Those fees prompted Josephs to challenge the system through any possible means: He began with a Facebook group, met with DOTS Director David Allen and is formulating plans with Student Government Association officials.
But when he met with Allen, Josephs said he was slightly frustrated with the department’s lack of motivation.
“[The department] wants you to change things, but they do not want to help you change things.” Josephs said.
However, he said Allen expressed interest in looking at the issue of confusing signs and said a first warning system is already in its planning stages. The warnings will not apply to those blocking roadways or parking in services areas, Allen said.
“I want better and clearer signs,” Josephs said. “It is less likely to get tickets in the beginning.”
Although Josephs said the signs are a priority for him, his primary goal is to lower ticket citations to levels closer to that of other universities, he said.
At the University of Virginia, fees are set at $40 for parking in a reserved space or area and $5 for improper display of a permit. Boston College has $25 fines for an incorrect parking permit or for having no permit.
Lauren Breedlove, former chairwoman of the SGA’s Campus Affairs Committee said when Allen proposed increasing fines last year, the committee agreed to the increase in prices after Allen assured them that a warning system would be enacted, which would inform people of the fee prices.
Allen said the first warning system would begin next semester.
“We figured as long as people know what the prices are, it’s not as unfair,” Breedlove said.
Parking fines weren’t always so high. The Campus and Transportation Advisory Committee increased them last fall to address issues of “nuisance, inconvenience, safety and fraud,” Allen said. Before last fall, parking in a spot other than an assigned area was $20, parking in a service parking space was $40 and parking in a courier parking space was $30. Now they all cost $75.
Allen said the decision was made for the convenience of permit holders, some of whom spend more than $300 a year to park on the campus. The higher the fine, the less likely non-permit-holding students will continue to park in prohibited lots, he said.
Although Josephs has not laid out a plan to change the university’s policy, he met with Rachel Reilly, the SGA chair of the Commuters Affairs Committee yesterday to discuss the issue, he said.
“This is definitely something I myself personally wanted to work on this year, but the ball did not start rolling until Alex contacted me.” Reilly said.
Contact reporter Kaitlyn Seith at seithdbk@gmail.com.
